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The Fair Pay Act
May 2, 2008 - 8:13am — Diana Cage
It's 2008 and woman still make on average 77 cents to the man's dollar. Keep in mind that's an average. It's even scarier when you break it down. African-American women make 72 cents, Latina women make 59 cents and Native American women are making 58 cents. The good news is we're making a penny more than we were making last year. So, in another quarter century or so we'll be all caught up.
In 1963, the Equal Pay Act made equal pay for equal work the law, but employers find all sorts of ways around it. It's a traditional corporate practice to keep pay raises secret and that helps to hide pay disparities based on gender and race. And if that weren't bad enough, a Supreme Court decision that went down in 2007 weakened the law to the level of nearly unenforceable.
The decision came in the case of Lilly Ledbetter, a supervisor at Goodyear Tire. Twenty years into her career, Ledbetter realized she'd been making considerably less than her male counterparts year after year. In fact, men with less seniority were making more than her. But the Supreme Court ruled that employees may not bring suit under the anti-discrimination law unless they have filed a formal complaint with a federal agency within 180 days of their pay rate being set. That's the date their pay was set, not the date you became aware you were being discriminated against. It makes no sense whatsoever. How on earth can you sue for something you don't know about?
The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act seeks to change the rules. If the bill passes, then each unfair paycheck is considered a new act of discrimination and an employee would have 180 days to bring suit from the time he or she received the paycheck. Congress was set to vote on the bill this week, but Republicans blocked it. And, for the record, John McCain has publicly come out against it.
Another vote will come up soon. And we're now a permanent majority. There are more of us registered to vote, more of us show up to the polls and there are more of us period. American women have the power to change this with their votes. And money matters more than party lines. This bill must pass. If the Fair Pay Act is defeated, it's an embarrassing defeat of basic civil rights.
In 1963, the Equal Pay Act made equal pay for equal work the law, but employers find all sorts of ways around it. It's a traditional corporate practice to keep pay raises secret and that helps to hide pay disparities based on gender and race. And if that weren't bad enough, a Supreme Court decision that went down in 2007 weakened the law to the level of nearly unenforceable.
The decision came in the case of Lilly Ledbetter, a supervisor at Goodyear Tire. Twenty years into her career, Ledbetter realized she'd been making considerably less than her male counterparts year after year. In fact, men with less seniority were making more than her. But the Supreme Court ruled that employees may not bring suit under the anti-discrimination law unless they have filed a formal complaint with a federal agency within 180 days of their pay rate being set. That's the date their pay was set, not the date you became aware you were being discriminated against. It makes no sense whatsoever. How on earth can you sue for something you don't know about?
The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act seeks to change the rules. If the bill passes, then each unfair paycheck is considered a new act of discrimination and an employee would have 180 days to bring suit from the time he or she received the paycheck. Congress was set to vote on the bill this week, but Republicans blocked it. And, for the record, John McCain has publicly come out against it.
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30 Comments
John McCain
Don't have much to ad to what is already here, but
FUCK YOU JOHN MCCAIN!!!!!
Livid
Have you experienced the frustration a computer can give when it continually fights against you and all you want to do is scream and toss it out the window as if the sound of shattering glass will make it all better? K, this is me at the moment ten fold.
When a person has a viable chance at leading our nation and brazenly expresses his view of enforcing equal pay in a comment regarding what women really need: “education and training, particularly since more and more women are heads of their households, as much or more than anybody else. And it’s hard for them to leave their families when they don’t have somebody to take care of them” – I cry. I cry out of anger and rage. John McCain simply cannot be President of the United States of America if my vote has anything to say about it. Ridiculous. Am I living in the twilight zone or the United States of America? What century is this?
As a 20-something nearing 30, it saddens me to witness such complacency among my peers and women in general (in my circle anyway). By complacency, I mean more then getting hot under the collar – take real action. There are some that may take action, just not enough of us imho. Nothing left to do with this level of indignation, except for action.
*Breathes in/out*
Peace & Love,
P~
PS> the quote was taken from http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/26/opinion/26collins.html?hp
This would be a great thing
This would be a great thing for Obama to jump on and push out there into the public eye, don't you think? It was just noted that in the background of his NC speech there were many older women, instead of the Abercrombie and Fitch boys of a couple primaries ago. This is a hopeful sign that his campaign understands that focusing on women from here out is a good strategy for him (a la Bill circa 1992).
not only has McCain
come out against it - he actually stated that this would not happen if women were better educated!!
Lets not only kick out all the republicans - lets replace them all with DEMOCRATIC WOMEN!! Wouldn't that be a kick!!
hey diana
mccain also opposed birth control being covered by health insurance. doesn't he know that babies are more costly than the pill? and when are we going to get rid of viagra being covered by medicaid? we shouldn't have to pay for other people's hard-ons.
congress made a big announcement years ago that they were going to get rid of it after it was discovered that sex offenders were getting free viagra through medicaid, but then they snuck the provision back in that year when the bill was voted on and got rid of other needed programs (one being cutting back on funding for birth control). people suck.
McCain sucks. I wonder how
McCain sucks. I wonder how many people are wanting to vote for him after he is really verbalizing his stance on health care. He was here within the last 2 weeks and spoke that if anything, he'd give a tax break of like $200 (I'm thinking yearly) in place of nation medical coverage.
My dad had to get medicine in the last 2 months (twice now), and the medicine alone was $900 for approximately 30 pills. His insurance only paid so much, leaving him to dish out close to $200 out of his own pocket.
National insurance would actual profit the government. Or break even. Hello. Why are the insurance companies so DAMNED rich? It's completely viable to offer all the people a stepped base insurance within affordability....and GET RID of medicaid..or expand it...
rovermom :)
Life is a 3D puzzle and everyone has a piece!
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OMFG. viagra.
OMFG. viagra. gross.
Thanks for the blog idea Chube. I gotta do some research since I'm woefully behind on medicaid laws re: viagra and impotence in general. Im glad you brought this up.
hi diana
it's very hard to find quality information out there about it (most are just news articles or blogs) and they are often outdated. as for medicaid, i think some states did stop funding for sex offenders but i'm not sure. and i think the fed might have stopped providing matching funds but i'm not sure on that either; some things i find say that they "passed a bill" or "voted" to get rid of it, but in the end i know that this didn't actually end up happening.
hopefully with your superior research skills and connections you can get to the bottom of this one.
i also do know that a couple of years ago, they (congress) planned to cut federal funding for viagra because it would have provided $2 billion that the government needed to help victims of hurricane katrina, but they ended up doing nothing. i also know that government health insurance for governemnt employees covers viagra but not birth control (or so it was when i last read up on it). all the while birth control funding keeps getting chipped away at and many insurers still don't cover it!
here's some links i did find though that you might like to look at.
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3820/is_200604/ai_n17188823
http://www.center4research.org/news/viagra.html
http://www.msmagazine.com/summer2007/stickerShock.asp
i'm a member of NOW and i
i'm a member of NOW and i remember when this happened. she won her suit in court but goodyear fought it (DON'T BUY THEIR TIRES!!!) and her judgement was overturned by the supreme court on the lame basis that the original act of discrimination happened twenty years ago and that each paycheck thereafter was not a seperate act of dicrimination, but just a result of the first, original act of dicrimination, i.e. her first paycheck. what screwed logic and what a great way too circumvent the meaning and purpose of the law. thanks roberts, alito, thompson, and scalia (aka RATS).
i also recently took action again on this issue and wrote my senators, but they (clinton and shumer) already support it. there are a few repubs who are holding back but they are up for reelection against more progressive candidates, so supporters are hoping that they can be swayed by people writing them e-mails to support this. i forget which states they are from, but NOW has a list of them. anyone who wants to write their senators can just go to the NOW website, find information about the fair pay act, and can take action; just enter your zip code and NOW will do the rest. you don't have to be a member or give any money or anything. it's totally worth the two minutes of your time.
Action = Reaction..........
I am so proud of you, CHUBE. I know that sounds kinda silly, but , women who are involved with issues like this, will change the world for the coming generations.
If you have the opportunity , please read my reply to your ERA comment. I think that you may find it interesting.
Peace :-))
hell yeah
if you don't make your voice heard, how do you expect anyone to listen to you or care what you think/feel/believe?
we're all very busy with our lives and we too often think that what we do doesn't even matter. but it does - we have to hold our elected officials accountable and let them know that we are watching them. that's why voting is so important, especially in local elections where it makes the biggest difference; even if it's just picking the lesser of the evils.
what i like about NOW is that they stay on top of the issues and let me know when they need me to "take action" on an issue and why it's important.
That would require investigative journalists....
I only know of 1 left! My buddy in CO! We'll have to wait until 2012 to see if a "surge" of journalists graduate and invade the web and other media. It'll give all the old heads time to retire or be fired! I'm battling this issue right now, unfortunately for them, I am a triple threat. I'll keep coming back until 1 of my 3 protected classes gets paid. I'm just sayin'.....
But the Supreme Court ruled
But the Supreme Court ruled that employees may not bring suit under the anti-discrimination law unless they have filed a formal complaint with a federal agency within 180 days of their pay rate being set.
That I did not know. No wonder this Amendment is hardly used. It kind of makes this Equal Pay Amendment pointless. I bet women voluntarily pay men more, also - which is fucked up even more. Why should ANYONE get paid more to do the same job exact job?
rovermom :)
Life is a 3D puzzle and everyone has a piece!
NEW! OurChart Photo Assignment and My Blog
as a manager
I always fought for the women that worked under me. They always gave the men bigger percentages of what could be given. and i always got less than the other managers.
I eventually quit and became a consultant. I couldn't stand the stink!!
Just one more example of a story the media is NOT covering
Let put it alongside:
- "The Pentagon Fed Military Analysts Talking Points to Support the War."
- "John McCain Flip Flops on ______" Fill in the blank
- "51 US War Dead in Iraq in April (Still No Accurate Count of Iraqi Dead)"
- "California is paying $4.00 a Gallon for Gas"
No room for those stories in the papers on the news, but hey, let's run another 100 or so articles about Rev. Wright or Hillary in Bosnia.
Your friend,
Rusty
[lesbian humor; what a concept]
+ + + + + + + +
“Nothing in the world is more dangerous than a sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.”~ Martin Luther King, Jr.
right on rusty
i did see the story about the military analysts (cnn) but it's more than sad how they only cover the important stories for half a second and harp over and over again on the same meaningless. news isn't news anymore, it's just a bad tabloid hellbent on making as much useless drama as possible.
they want an emotional repsonse from viewers which reflects what and how they report, but don't they realize that the "real" problems in the world are what get our emotions going, and that the majority (of us (regardless of what they would try to have us believe; they report on the hillary-obama drama so much as to make us think that it must be important) really don't give a crap about hillary said this, obama did that, superdelegates, polls, polls, polls, anna nicole smith, drew peterson, and hour-long larry king episodes about paris hilton and britanny spears.
cnn did just do a good series plant in peril though. bbc world news is okay, it's on my local pbs station. it like "wow..i forgot that things were actually going on in the real world." that's why we have to seek out things, because the msm just won't give it to us.
Well Duuuh
That would mean there would have to be actual reporting and news on the news channels. It seems all the news media cares about is sensationalism and going over the same stories again and again. I stopped tuning into the news a few years ago. I get my news online. I say we start our own news channel! yea! :-)
Western NY is about 3.65-3.80 with gas prices. We could always do what W. says.. 'if you don't need it.. don't use it!'.
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I've Woken Now To Find Myself In The Shadows Of All I Have Created
Yet another reason why it's
Yet another reason why it's better to be a democrat. This is a very important issue and I wanted to thank you for raising this vital point.
Does Anyone Remember the ERA????
Thank you so much for bringing finances into this forum. I think there is an entire generation who feel that the sacrifices the prior generation of women made, was good enough. They now can just sit back and reap the rewards, that the fight is over. No one should kid themselves. When, in any culture, women have to "fight" for "human rights" ( which is what this is), well.......... remember, what is "given" can be taken away, unless it is guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.
Conservatives in Washington , and every State Capitol , are daily chipping away at women's rights.It is happening very quietly and without public awareness. This will never be resolved, until all "human rights" are guaranteed under the great Constitution of this country.
Is there anyone reading this who remembers what the Equal Rights Amendment was? Well, women in this country helped to defeat this incredible Amendment that would have guaranteed that situations like " fair pay" wouldn't even exist. Women HELPED by passively sitting back and DOING NOTHING, and by believing all of the rhetoric concerning it. The right wing, spewed lies about the amendment. And most women, did nothing.
Unfortunately, we are paying for this now. To "piece meal" women's rights. To throw us " a bone" if you will, is insulting to every Woman in this country, and to the generations of women yet to be born.
We have a long history of struggle for constitutional rights in this country. I would suggest that everyone "google" the Equal Rights Amendment. The struggle for our inclusion, in our Constitution ,started in 1923 in this country. And , we still don't have equal pay??............... Hummmmm. I DON'T think we've come a long way,baby.
Thank you Diana, for bring attention to such a disgusting form of gender prejudice.
Peace.
yeah, alice paul wrote it,
yeah, alice paul wrote it, didn't she? it did pass but needed ratification by a number states before it could be enacted and while a numder of states ratified it, it lost steam and went nowhere. not too long ago, i remember madeline albright saying that she didn't agree with the ERA. she didn't really elaborate, though. but i think that the ERA could also prevent women from getting certain benefits, such as maternity leave. and i think that it would also mean that we'd have to sing up for the draft. i think most people just thought that it wouldn't do much and that it was unecessary even though "all MEN are created equal" which technically doesn't apply to us. an ERA would never pass in this day and age either because to me, it would give gays full rights and the right to marry. to me, i look at discrimination against gays as sex discrimination; i still have the right to marry, i would just have to marry a man. the government is discriminated against me because i'm not a man; if i were a man, i could marry a woman.
women around the world are still extremely oppressed; no other group of people suffers universal oppression. we often forget...numerous people have brought up how having a woman as president would be a drawback because other leaders wouldn't take her seriously, especially those in the middle east. this would never be a consideration based on anything else, such as religion or race. we do still have a long way to go. i can't wait until i enter the corporate world to be paid less than my incompetant, cry-baby male collegues.
i was thinking of starting my own business and hiring only women, gays, and other minorities. i could then easily just say that they were more qualfied and/or that it wasn't intentional. i actually think that companies like hiring women, in addition to fact that we're smart, make good workers, are good eye candy, give men someone to complain to and a place where they feel they can go for sympathy, and giving the employer a "diverse workforce," they get to pay us less.
which remind me of joke i heard a while ago from a comedian; she said that she would love to have a woman or a black man as president because that way we wouldn't have to pay them as much. :) :(
It Was Very Simple........
The Equal Rights Amendment :
Section 1. Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.
Section 2. The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.
Section 3. This amendment shall take effect two years after the date of ratification.
It is that simple. Unfortunately, so many people have been able to twist it's contents into what ever is/was politically correct, at the time. The question of the draft, maternity leave, unisex bathrooms, girls & boys having to share gyms and showers in school. I heard it all, as did millions of women who were confused and mislead.
It did not, and has not ever, inferred that there are no differences between men and women. We as women turned against each other. That's what the , predominately white, male power structure in Washington hoped for. And they got what they were looking for.
Even in 2008 , there are women who question why they should support Hillary Clinton. An example: 90% of black voters are voting for B.Obama. they understand the significance. 30% of female voters are voting for Hillary Clinton. Most cannot understand the significance. I feel that says more about how far we haven't come , than anything else. I'm not speaking of current issues, I'm merely speaking of historical significance.
Women's issues have become insignificant in this country. However, it is women who have given birth to all the sons and daughters dying in Iraq, it is women who have given birth to all the hungry and homeless children around the world, it is women who have given birth to all of the babies dying in Darfur, it is women who have given birth to the millions of babies who have died of HIV/Aids in Africa, it is women who watch Islamic extremists take all human rights away from women. It is women, who are too terrified to speak up. Human rights should NEVER be up for debate. Either you're equal, or you're not.
Thank you CHUBE. I enjoyed the dialogue.
Peace :-))
hey longbeach
you know, i just gave this link to someone else but i think you might like it too.
http://www.womensmediacenter.com/ex/020108.html
i don't want to vote for someone just because she's a woman; even though we're supposed to vote in our own self-interest, i think that we're also supposed to vote for who would be best for the country as a whole. yes, 90% of blacks are voting for obama and i'm sure that they leaned toward him because of race, but i don't think that race was the only reason. you also have to like the person and their attributes; obama's a relative newby, so there's not much not to like about him.
and while the media freely discusses how race may hurt him with some (hillbilly) voters, i have to think that there are men out there who will not vote for hillary, at least in part, because she's a woman. our perceptions of her and our judgements of her behavior are made through the eye of gender, and as has been said, she reminds men of their nagging shrill ex-wives. but i think that most people just hate her for other reasons. the shady stuff she does bothers me too and i won't ignore it just because she's a woman. i might make a concession since her counterparts are shady too, but not because she's a woman. and if anything, i feel that i should have higher standards for her. i think that a lot of women feel this way; they don't want to just grab at the first thing; they want a female president they can be pround of, who has dignity, goes against the grain, and rises above the male-constructed b.s.. so in some ways, i think that women hold her to a higher standard than they do male candidates. they don't want "our first" to be a flop.
i do understand what your saying though. i think the shift in NH was either just bad polls, the effect of the undecideds, and/or women who decided not to follow iowa's lead and chose hillary because they saw the significance. i really couldn't do anything but laugh when the media tried to pretend that there were a bunch of racist white women prowling new hampshire who lied to pollsters all the while hatching their evil plan to vote for hillary.
if anybody’s experienced gross amounts of sexism in their life (and is still alive and a citizen of this country), it’s hillary. i would think that going to law school during the 60’s/70’s? would have been enough b.s. to last a lifetime, but she’s been bombarded with it ever since she entered public life. god forbid a woman actually has a goal in life.
i have to look up the ERA again, because in my head i thought that the wording was different and i thought that it said that the US nor any of it's states can "discriminate" on the basis of sex; that would fit in more to the arguments that people were making.
i think that women's studies should be taught in junior high or high school; it is really important and can open up a lot of people's eyes, especially girls. they're so lost at that age and devalue themselves way too much because they buy into this society and what it says they're supposed to be. i never took a women's studies class, but i did read a lot in high school and i would come across some intersting books(scum manifesto for one), and i had a teacher that out of nowhere gave me some of her books, including a women's studies textbook she had for me to bring home. i went home and read it, and it seemed like everything fell into place and made sense. there wasn't just a name, but a whole ideology based on everything that i thought and felt.
I agree........
You are right on CHUBE !!
It's our personal choices, and our diversity as women, that will ultimately change the face of politics as we know it.
PEACE :-))
LongBeachDogLover...
Would it be inappropriate, if I took this opportunity to say how freakin' HOT I find women with brains!!! Gee, I hope not...looks like I already said it. Okay, continue the discussion!!! I'll be right back after I open the window and let some cool air in!!!
Hummmmm..........
Let me check........... No, I think that is a VERY politically CORRECT thing to say.
Intellectuals need us some hot lovin', too.
"Peace & Let's Read a Book Naked" ;-))
...
thanks for this article. i think its easy for some of us to forget that for some women things are still pretty hard in the workplace despite the equal pay act.
Wow
Like Cyberwolf, I wasn't even aware of the Fair Pay Act's existence. I'm still a fellow working for beans, and there is no negotiation of salary, so I know I'm on an even playing field. Still, I wonder how it breaks down amongst the faculty in my department...
~paz y amor siempre
Wasn't Even Aware
I wasn't even aware there was such an act passed. Hopefully the new one will get passed and we can continue our struggle towards equality. I wonder how many more of us don't even know that we can fight for unequal pay? What were McCain's reasons for his lack of support?
I work in a pretty male dominated field. People are always surprised when they find out I am female (I do alot of work online). I met a new coder this week from another country and 19. He tells me - "Girl coders always amaze me". As if it is amazing that women can comprehend computer code at all. It gets so frustrating at times, not to mention I hate being referred to as a 'girl'. I think I shall start referring to my male coders as boys from now on. :-)
--==--==--
I've Woken Now To Find Myself In The Shadows Of All I Have Created
Fair pay
Diana, thanks for alerting me about the Supreme Court decision on the Ledbetter case and the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. This reminds me the important role the Supreme Court plays regarding issues that affect my life. And how important is this 2008 election.
With the price of gas the
With the price of gas the "bus fair" we're getting paid seems appropriate,because we've been forced to NOW ride it(lol)