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Friday, March 29, 2024

Rep. Carson, DeLauro Reintroduce Paycheck Fairness Act to End Wage Discrimination

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WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman André Carson (D-IN) joined Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) today in reintroducing the Paycheck Fairness Act, legislation which would help close the wage gap between women and men working the same jobs. On average, women nationally make just 78 cents for every dollar made by a man. 

The Paycheck Fairness Act builds upon the landmark Equal Pay Act signed into law in 1963 by closing loopholes that have kept it from achieving its goal of equal pay. The bill would require employers to show pay disparity is truly related to job performance, not gender.

“Equal pay is not just a problem for women, but for families, who are trying to pay their bills, trying to get ahead, trying to achieve the American Dream, and are getting a smaller paycheck than they have earned for their hard work,” said Carson.  “The Paycheck Fairness Act will help the Equal Pay Act fulfill its intended objective, offer real protections to ensure equal pay for equal work, and see that women are paid the same as the other half of our nation’s workforce for the same job.”

It also prohibits employer retaliation for sharing salary information with coworkers. Under current law employers can sue and punish employees for sharing such information. In addition, it strengthens remedies for pay discrimination by increasing compensation women can seek, allowing them to seek both back pay and punitive damages for pay discrimination.

The bill empowers women in the workplace through a grant program to strengthen salary negotiation and other workplace skills, and requires the Department of Labor to enhance outreach and training efforts to eliminate pay disparities.

President Obama’s first bill, signed into law on January 29, 2009, was the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which overturned the 180-day statute of limitations for women to contest pay discrimination. The Paycheck Fairness Act would close the loopholes that allow pay discrimination to continue in the first place and, with Ledbetter, provide employees the rights they need to challenge and eliminate pay discrimination in the workplace.

In Indiana, a woman who holds a full-time job is paid, on average, $33,419 per year while a man who holds a full-time job is paid $45,620 per year. This means that women in Indiana are paid 73 cents for every dollar paid to men, amounting to a yearly wage gap of $12,201 between men and women who work full time in the state. For more information, click here.

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