End Pay Discrimination: Urge Your Senator to Support the Paycheck Fairness Act

BACKGROUND:
The Paycheck Fairness Act (S. 182) will deter pay discrimination by closing loopholes in the law and barring retaliation against workers who disclose their wages. This bill strengthens the Equal Pay Act of 1963 to ensure that it provides effective protection against sex-based pay discrimination, allowing women to receive the same remedies in court for pay discrimination as those subjected to discrimination based on race or national origin. Such steps are necessary and timely in light of the current economic recession. Americans are counting their pennies, and it is unjust that women continue to earn 78 cents, on average, for every dollar earned by men.

Early last year, Congress passed and the President signed into law the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which restores the rights of employees who have suffered pay discrimination to recourse by clarifying the current statute to allow employers to be sued every time they issue a discriminatory paycheck, regardless of how much time has lapsed since the discrimination first occurred. This legislation was a critical first step in ensuring fair pay for women in the workplace, but the fight for pay equity is a long way from finished.
 
The House has already passed the Paycheck Fairness Act. Unfortunately, the Senate did not act on the bill. Passing the Paycheck Fairness Act will help put an end to unequal pay for women.

JEWISH VALUES:
Jewish tradition has long recognized the importance of paying fair wages. Leviticus 9:13 commands that, “You shall not defraud your neighbor, nor rob him; the wages of he who is hired shall not remain with you all night until the morning.” Judaism also teaches that all human beings should be treated equally because they are created b’tselem elohim, in the image of God. “And God created humans in God’s own image, in the image of God, God created them; male and female, God created them” (Genesis 1:27).

TAKE ACTION:
In emails, faxes and phone calls, please contact your Senators and urge them to co-sponsor and bring to the floor the Paycheck Fairness Act (S. 182).  The Capitol Switchboard can be reached at 202.224.3121 or you can also send an e-mail by entering your Zip Code. For more information, please contact Legislative Assistant Samuel Lehman at 202.387.2800.