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For Immediate Release: May 21, 2009
Contact: Adrienne Ammerman or Mary Robbins, 202-588-5180
NWLC Applauds Leadership on Pay Equity
Urges the Senate to Immediately Pass the Paycheck Fairness Act
(Washington, DC) Senators Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) and Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) will hold a press conference today at 3 p.m. to discuss the critical importance of immediately passing the Paycheck Fairness Act. The National Women’s Law Center (NWLC) applauds the Senators for making a renewed commitment to the bill, which passed the House in early January. NWLC Vice President for Education and Employment Jocelyn Samuels will speak at the event.
“We are confident that with these senators’ strong leadership and support, the Senate will move swiftly to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act,” Samuels said. “Passing the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act was a great step toward realizing the promise of equal pay for equal work, but we cannot leave our work unfinished. The Paycheck Fairness Act is a necessary part of achieving true pay equity.”
The Paycheck Fairness Act would close loopholes in the Equal Pay Act, prohibit retaliation against workers who disclose their wages, and allow women to receive the same remedies for sex-based pay discrimination that have long been available to those subject to discrimination based on race and national origin. The bill builds on the restorative approach of the Ledbetter bill to improve incentives for employers to comply with the law and to strengthen federal outreach, education and enforcement efforts.
“Unfortunately, women are still short-changed in the workplace and we must all work to ensure that employers are held fully accountable for practices that were outlawed decades ago,” Samuels said. “The Paycheck Fairness Act will pave a path toward achieving a long-overdue goal: equal pay for equal work.”
The press conference will take place today at 3 p.m. in the Senate Visitor’s Center, room 214.
For more information about the campaign for pay equity, visit www.nwlc.org/fairpay. To speak with Jocelyn Samuels, contact Adrienne Ammerman or Mary Robbins at 202-588-5180.
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