Monday, June 4, 2012

Politics in Action: S. 3220

 

S
TATEMENT OF ADMINISTRATION POLICY

S. 3220 – Paycheck Fairness Act
(Sen. Mikulski, D-MD, and 31 cosponsors)

The Administration strongly supports Senate passage of S. 3220, the Paycheck Fairness Act.  Women continue to earn substantially less than men for performing the same work.  Women earn only 77 cents for every dollar men earn, with women of color at an even greater disadvantage with 64 cents on the dollar for African American women and 56 cents for Hispanic women.  As more and more American families rely on women's wages for a significant portion of their income, the pay gap hurts not only women, but the families that depend on them.

The Paycheck Fairness Act is commonsense legislation that strengthens the Equal Pay Act and would give women the tools they need to fight pay discrimination.  This bill would address the pay gap by enhancing enforcement of equal pay laws.  Specifically, it would prohibit retaliation against employees who ask about or discuss wage information, and would provide more effective remedies for women subjected to discriminatory pay practices.  S. 3220 would strengthen the Equal Pay Act by closing judicially-created loopholes for employer defenses and by bringing its class action rules into conformity with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.  S. 3220 also requires the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to collect pay data to enable better enforcement of laws prohibiting pay discrimination.

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