Paycheck Fairness Act

Floor Speech

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Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the Paycheck Fairness Act, legislation that I have introduced in every Congress since 1997.

Since then, we have pushed and battled to strengthen the Equal Pay Act of 1963. We launched, side by side, into the fray to elevate pay discrimination, to emphasize how central its impact is to working families.

I cannot tell you how difficult it has been to break through on something so simple; so simple. Men and women in the same job deserve the same pay. It is a principle that we adhere to in this Congress, and I don't believe anyone would challenge it. The same is true of the U.S. military.

Last month, we recognized Equal Pay Day on March 24, which is the day into the current year that women must work to meet the wages earned by men in the previous year.

The National Committee on Pay Equity tells us, at its lowest point in 1973, full-time, working women earned a median of 56.6 cents to every dollar that full-time working men earned. Today, women who work full- time, year-round are paid, on average, only 82 cents for every dollar paid to men.

The gap exists in every State, regardless of geography, occupation, education, or work patterns. And it is worse for women of color. Latinas are typically paid 55 cents; Native American women 60 cents; Black women 63 cents; Asian American and Pacific Islander women are paid as little as 52 cents.

This wage disparity costs the average American woman and her family an estimated $400,000 to $2 million, impacting Social Security benefits and pensions.

Today, the issue and the environment have collided. This pandemic has brought out the depth of our problem, exposed existing inequalities, and threatened women's economic security at a disproportionate rate. Women have lost more than five million jobs; and as we seek to rebuild our economy, let us remember that the pay gap hurts not only women, but also the families who depend on them.

The Paycheck Fairness Act is a bipartisan piece of legislation, which has the support of every member of the Democratic Caucus, as well as three Republicans. It would toughen the remedies in the Equal Pay Act of 1963 to give America's working women the opportunity to fight wage discrimination and receive the paycheck they have rightfully earned.

It would require employers to prove that pay disparities exist for legitimate, job-related reasons; ban retaliation against workers who discuss their wages; it facilitates a wronged worker's participation in a class action suit; and it prohibits employers from seeking the salary history of prospective employees.

And by now, we are all familiar with the case of Lilly Ledbetter. Her bosses said: ``Their plant did not need women; that women did not help, and, in fact, they caused problems.''

Well, a jury found that, yes, Lilly Ledbetter had been discriminated against, and awarded her $3.8 million in back pay and damages, which the Supreme Court eliminated. She received nothing, as it closed the courtroom door to all women.

We, the Congress, reopened that door with the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. It reversed the Supreme Court's decision. It was a court access case, but it did not address the underlying issue of pay discrimination.

President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1956, in his State of the Union address, said: ``Legislation to apply the principle of equal pay for equal work without discrimination because of sex is a matter of simple justice. I earnestly urge the Congress to move swiftly to implement these needed labor measures.''

When President Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act into law nearly 58 years ago, he said: ``It is a first step. It affirms our determination that when women enter the labor force, they will find equality in their pay envelopes.''

The Paycheck Fairness Act is the next step. It simply brings the Equal Pay Act into line with the remedies already available for those who are subject to other forms of employment discrimination. That is it, pure and simple.

We have passed paycheck fairness through this House in 2008, 2009, 2019. But, now, in the 117th Congress in which we welcomed the most women in our history, we must get it into law. We have the opportunity to make good on that promise that Presidents of both parties have made. We need to seize that moment.

It is time for us to say that the work that women do in our society today is valued and respected, and the contribution that we make, if it is good enough for the women in the House of Representatives, then it is good enough for women all over the United States.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a letter supporting the Paycheck Fairness Act by a broad coalition of organizations that promote economic opportunity for women. February 3, 2021. Co-Sponsor and Support Swift Passage of the Paycheck Fairness Act

Dear Member of Congress: As members of a broad coalition of organizations that promote economic opportunity for women and vigorous enforcement of antidiscrimination laws, we strongly urge you to co-sponsor and push for swift passage of the Paycheck Fairness Act as a top priority of the 117th Congress. Despite federal and state equal pay laws, gender pay gaps persist, and earnings lost to these gaps are exacerbating the financial effects of COVID-19, falling particularly heavily on women of color and the families who depend on their income. This legislation offers a much needed update to the Equal Pay Act of 1963 by providing new tools to battle pervasive pay gaps and to challenge discrimination.

The COVID-19 pandemic and systemic racism have exposed how the work performed primarily by women, and particularly Black and brown women, has long been and continues to be undervalued and underpaid, even as the rest of the country is newly recognizing the essential nature of this work. Black women, Latinas, and other women of color are especially likely to be on the front lines of the crisis, risking their lives in jobs in health care, child care, and grocery stores; they are also being paid less than their male counterparts. At the same time, women in this country lost more than 5 million jobs in 2020; indeed, women accounted for 100% of the jobs lost in December 2020. The unemployment rate for Black women and Latinas remains exceptionally high. These high jobless numbers threaten to exacerbate gender wage gaps when women regain employment. We cannot build back an economy that works for everyone without ensuring that all women can work with equality, safety, and dignity, starting with pay equity.

There is no more fitting way to begin this session than by making real, concrete progress in ensuring all women receive fair pay. The Paycheck Fairness Act updates and strengthens the Equal Pay Act of 1963 to ensure that it provides robust protection against sex-based pay discrimination. Among other provisions, this comprehensive bill bars retaliation against workers who voluntarily discuss or disclose their wages. It closes loopholes that have allowed employers to pay women less than men for the same work without any important business justification related to the job. It ensures women can receive the same robust remedies for sex-based pay discrimination that are currently available to those subjected to discrimination based on race and ethnicity. It prohibits employers from relying on salary history in determining future pay, so that pay discrimination does not follow women from job to job. And it also provides much needed training and technical assistance, as well as data collection and research.

Women are increasingly the primary or co-breadwinner in their families and cannot afford to be shortchanged any longer. Women working full-time, year-round are typically paid only 82 cents for every dollar paid to men. But for every dollar paid to their white, non-Hispanic male counterparts, Black women only make 63 cents, Native women only 60 cents, and Latinas only 55 cents. While Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) women make 87 cents for every dollar paid to white, non-Hispanic men, women in many AAPI communities experience drastically wider pay gaps. Furthermore, moms are paid less than dads. And even when controlling for factors, such as education and experience, the pay gaps persist and start early in women's careers and contribute to a wealth gap that follows them throughout their lifetimes. These pay gaps can be addressed only if workers have the legal tools necessary to challenge discrimination and employers are provided with effective incentives and technical assistance to comply with the law.

We recently commemorated the twelfth anniversary of the enactment of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. That vital law rectified the Supreme Court's harmful decision in Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company. The law helps to ensure that individuals subjected to unlawful compensation discrimination are able to have their day in court and effectively assert their rights under federal antidiscrimination laws. But the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, critical as it is, is only one step on the path to ensuring women receive equal pay for equal work. It's time to take the next step toward achieving equal pay. We urge you to prioritize the Paycheck Fairness Act in the 117th Congress by co-sponsoring and urging swift passage of this legislation, taking up the cause of Lilly Ledbetter and all those who have fought for equal pay.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Kate Nielson, Director of Public Policy & Legal Advocacy at the American Association of University Women or Emily Martin, Vice President for Education & Workplace Justice at the National Women's Law Center. Sincerely,

9to5; A Better Balance; AFCPE (Association for Financial Counseling & Planning Education); All-Options; American Association of University Women (AAUW): AAUW of Alabama, AAUW of Alaska (AAUW Fairbanks (AK) Branch), AAUW of Arizona, AAUW of Arkansas, AAUW of California, AAUW of Colorado, AAUW of Connecticut, AAUW of Delaware, AAUW of District of Columbia (AAUW Washington (DC) Branch, AAUW Capitol Hill (DC) Branch), AAUW of Florida, AAUW of Georgia, AAUW of Hawaii, AAUW of Idaho, AAUW of Illinois, AAUW of Indiana, AAUW of Iowa, AAUW of Kansas, AAUW of Kentucky, AAUW of Louisiana, AAUW of Maine, AAUW of Maryland, AAUW of Massachusetts, AAUW of Michigan, AAUW of Minnesota, AAUW of Mississippi, AAUW of Missouri, AAUW of Montana, AAUW of Nebraska, AAUW of Nevada, AAUW of New Hampshire, AAUW of New Jersey, AAUW of New Mexico, AAUW of New York, AAUW of North Carolina, AAUW of North Dakota, AAUW of Ohio, AAUW of Oklahoma, AAUW of Oregon, AAUW of Pennsylvania, AAUW of Puerto Rico, AAUW of Rhode Island, AAUW of South Carolina, AAUW of South Dakota, AAUW of Tennessee, AAUW of Texas, AAUW of Utah, AAUW of Vermont, AAUW of Virginia, AAUW of Washington, AAUW of West Virginia, AAUW of Wisconsin, AAUW of Wyoming.

American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Unions (AFL-CIO); American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees; American Federation of Teachers; AnitaB.org; Association of Flight Attendants-CWA; Bend the Arc Jewish Action; California Women's Law Center; Catalyst; Center for American Progress; Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP); Center for LGBTQ Economic Advancement & Research; Clearinghouse on Women's Issues; Coalition of Labor Union Women: Philadelphia Coalition of Labor Union Women; Community Health Councils; Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd, U.S. Provinces; Connecticut Women's Education and Legal Fund (CWEALF); Disciples Center for Public Witness.

Equal Pay Today; Equal Rights Advocates; Every Texan; Family Forward Oregon; Family Values@ Work; Feminist Majority Foundation; Futures Without Violence; Gender Justice; Holy Spirit Missionary Sisters, USA-JPIC; In Our Own Voice: National Black Women's Reproductive Justice Agenda; Indiana Institute for Working Families; Institute for Women's Policy Research; Justice for Migrant Women; KWH Law Center for Social Justice and Change; Labor Council for Latin American Advancement; Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights; League of Women Voters of the United States; Legal Aid at Work; Legal Momentum, The Women's Legal Defense and Education Fund; Legal Voice; MANA, A National Latina Organization; Methodist Federation for Social Action; Mi Familila Vota.

Michigan League for Public Policy; MomsRising; NAACP; National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd; National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum (NAPAWF); National Association of Social Workers; National Center for Law and Economic Justice; National Committee on Pay Equity; National Council of Jewish Women; National Domestic Violence Hotline; National Education Association; National Employment Law Project: National Employment Lawyers Association National Employment Lawyers Association--Eastern Pennsylvania, National Employment Lawyers Association--Georgia; National Network to End Domestic Violence; National Organization for Women: Florida NOW, Illinois NOW, Indiana NOW, Jacksonville NOW, Kanawha Valley NOW, Maryland NOW, Monroe County NOW, Montana NOW, Northwest Indiana NOW, South Jersey NOW-Alice Paul chapter.

National Partnership for Women & Families; National WIC Association; National Women's Law Center; National Women's Political Caucus; Native Women Lead; NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice; New Jersey Citizen Action; NewsGuild-CWA; New York Women's Foundation; North Carolina Justice Center; People For the American Way; PowHer New York; Prosperity Now; Reinventure Capital; Restaurant Opportunities Centers (ROC) United; Service Employees International Union; Shriver Center on Poverty Law; TIME'S UP Now; U.S. Women's Chamber of Commerce; Union for Reform Judaism; United State of Women; WNY Women's Foundation; Women and Girls Foundation of Southwest Pennsylvania; Women Employed; Women of Reform Judaism; Women's Fund of Rhode Island; Women's Fund of the Greater Cincinnati Foundation.

Women's Law Project; Women's Media Center; Women's Rights and Empowerment Network; YWCA USA: YWCA Allentown, YWCA Arizona Metropolitan Phoenix, YWCA Billings, YWCA Butler, YWCA Central Alabama, YWCA Central Indiana, YWCA Central Maine, YWCA Central Virginia, YWCA Dayton, YWCA Duluth, YWCA Elgin, YWCA Genesee County, YWCA Greater Austin, YWCA Greater Baton Rouge, YWCA Greater Cincinnati, YWCA Greater Cleveland, YWCA Greater Portland, YWCA Greenwich, YWCA Hartford Region, YWCA Kalamazoo, YWCA Kauai, YWCA Kitsap County, YWCA Knoxville and the Tennessee Valley, YWCA Lower Cape Fear, YWCA McLean County, YWCA Metro Detroit--Interim House, YWCA National Capital Area, YWCA New Hampshire, YWCA North Central Indiana, YWCA Northern New Jersey, YWCA Oahu, YWCA Pierce County, YWCA Princeton, YWCA QUINCY, YWCA Sauk Valley, YWCA Seattle king Snohomish, YWCA South Hampton Roads, YWCA Southeastern Massachusetts, YWCA Southern Arizona, YWCA University of Illinois, YWCA Utah, YWCA Western New York, YWCA Wheeling, YWCA Yakima; Zonta USA Caucus.

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Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, the gender pay gap is a pervasive problem that demands thoughtful, multipronged solutions. The Paycheck Fairness Act represents a comprehensive response to the shortcomings of existing law and addresses the holes that have emerged over time.

Representative Stefanik's substitute, the Wage Equity Act, is exactly what the Paycheck Fairness Act has been fighting over the years. It purports to offer protections, but, in reality, it creates loopholes that give a wink and a nod to discrimination. Not only would it offer empty protections, it would erode existing protections already in place.

The substitute includes inadequate protections for workers who discuss or disclose wages. While ostensibly protecting employees who disclose or discuss that pay, it allows employers to place limitations on when, where, and how employees may do so, negating the point of the provision.

Madam Speaker, you cannot remedy pay discrimination if you have no idea that you are making less than the man across the hall. When workers fear retaliation for talking about their pay, any wage gap they face is likely to continue to grow undiscovered in the shadows.

More egregiously, there is no mechanism for enforcement, as it would allow employers who conduct self-designed pay audits to escape accountability for unlawful pay disparities and deny a worker a remedy.

I think it bears repeating that corporations do not feel free to sell us spoiled meat, lock our daughters up in ninth-floor sweatshops with no fire escapes, employ our underage sons in coal mines, force us to work 13-hour shifts without overtime or a break because corporations experienced a moment of Zen and decided to evolve.

No. They were forced into greater accountability and social concern by the legitimate actions of a democratic government. In other words, if we depend on goodwill or a self-audit, then we are all screwed.

This amendment seeks to destroy the entire purpose of the bill and allows companies to evade accountability for violating the law.

Madam Speaker, I urge a ``no'' vote on this amendment and a ``yes'' vote for the Paycheck Fairness Act.

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