DeGette Supports Fair And Equal Pay

WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO), Vice Chair of theCommittee on Energy and Commerce, today supported two measures thathave been stalled under the Republican Administration. The 111thCongress today passed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, legislationthat would restore the long-standing interpretation of civil rightslaws to allow employees to file pay discrimination claims within 180days of each discriminatory paycheck they receive, and the PaycheckFairness Act, legislation that would help end the discriminatorypractice of paying men and women unequally for performing the same job.

"The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act is a necessary measure to ensure theend of gender discrimination," said DeGette. "This legislation is longoverdue and I am pleased the 111th Congress will make this one of thefirst bills passed this session."

The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act would apply to workers who file claimsof discrimination on the basis of race, sex, color, national origin,religion, age, or disability. The House-passed bill is the same as thebill approved in 2007. President-Elect Obama has indicated his strongsupport for the measure.

"The Paycheck Fairness Act will strengthen the Equal Pay Act and closeloopholes that have allowed many employers to avoid responsibility fordiscriminatory pay," concluded DeGette.

Although the wage gap between men and women has narrowed since thepassage of the landmark Equal Pay Act in 1963, gender-based wagediscrimination remains a significant problem for women in the U.S.workforce. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, women only make 78cents for every dollar earned by a man.