Equal Pay Victory & Next Steps

Thanks to all of you who contacted your legislators to encourage passage of The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. President Obama's signing of this legislation struck a powerful blow for justice not just for Lilly Ledbetter, but for anyone who has been victimized by wage discrimination.

The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act righted a wrong perpetrated by the Supreme Court in its deplorable 2007 Ledbetter v. Goodyear decision. Victims of wage discrimination had their rights stripped away in the Supreme Court decision involving Lilly Ledbetter’s case. The Court said that a complaint couldn’t be brought more than 180 days after the first act of discrimination, which meant, if a company could get away with discriminating for 180 days, it could go on discriminating forever. But, not now. As long as discrimination continues in the workplace, so too does an employee’s ability to do something about such discrimination!

This is a major victory! But, we have more work to do to ensure equal pay and equity. Let's celebrate this victory by paving the way for another important victory.

Now is the time to tell your Senators you want quick action on the Paycheck Fairness Act.

Women currently make, on average, only 78 cents for every dollar earned by men. The gap for women of color is even wider. We can help address this wage gap by updating the Equal Pay Act -- passed more than 45 years ago.

The Paycheck Fairness Act will put an end to loopholes and weak remedies that have made the Equal Pay Act less effective than it should be in combating wage discrimination. It will also strengthen outreach, education and enforcement efforts and it will prohibit retaliation against workers who ask about employers' wage practices.

Encourage your Senators to support the Equal Pay Act