Pay Act Legislation

BKate

I read that Congress is working on a bill that would overturn the recent Supreme Court decision on the statute of limitations for filing pay discrimination claims. What does everyone think about the impact this will have on the workplace? I have to admit I haven't taken time to read the bill yet.

babaHR

Yes, Rep. Rosa DeLauro is introducing the bill in the House and Sen Hillary Clinton is introducing the legislation in the senate.

Rep. DeLauro has said "When the Supreme Court ruled 5 to 4 against Ms. Ledbetter this Spring, it decided that a victim of pay disparity should be able to document a discriminatory difference in pay within a mere six months, despite the typical office secrecy over income.  When women still earn only about 77 percent of what men earn, this ruling leaves them with no remedy, essentially rolling back efforts to ensure equal pay."

I thought it was interesting that she mentioned "typical office secrecy over income."

Richard3

This will make it so much easier for women to win these cases, especially when they don't know they are being discriminated against right away.

BKate

I just read that the House approved the bill but the President is going to veto it--what could possibly be the reason. If the Supreme Court rested the decision on the intent of Conress in setting the statute of limitations, shouldn't Congress be permitted to clarify its intent with a new law.

johnnyBravo

Upon vetoing the bill, Bush will probably distort what the bill purports to do--he'll claim that it will "open the floodgates for lawsuits", etc.

ntk104

One would think that Congress should be permitted to clarify its intent, however, a can of worms is being opened.  I don't think what a specific person is making should be posted with their name, but there should be a posting of hourly rates or annual salaries for a position posted.