Paycheck Fairness Stalled in Congress

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Women still earn on average 78 cents for every dollar earned by men performing substantially the same work. While the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act was a great first step, The Paycheck Fairness Act would provide stronger civil rights protections than are currently required. Unfortunately, it remains stalled in Congress.

The Paycheck Fairness Act would:

  • Ensure that courts require employers to show that any wage disparities are both job-related and consistent with business needs.
  • Protect employees who discuss salary information with co-workers from retaliation.
  • Allow plaintiffs who prevail in court to recover compensatory and punitive damages.

Contact your legislators to let them know the true importance of this bill. Please tell them that:

“Pay equity is a pressing issue for women and families in Pennsylvania. When women lose out on pay, so do their households, making it even harder to make ends meet.”

Some background that you can add is below:

  • Pennsylvania’s working women have surpassed their male counterparts in educational achievements, yet a recent report by the Keystone Research Center documented that the gender wage gap in Pennsylvania widened between 2003 and 2007, and currently stands at nearly $4 an hour.
  • We need The Paycheck Fairness Act because the exceptions and legal interpretations made to Equal Pay Act have diluted its intended effectiveness. As a result, women working full-time, year-round still only earn 78 cents for every dollar men earn. Women of color fare worse, earning between 59% to 69% of the median income of all men.

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