When the Equal Pay Act was signed into law in 1963, women were earning only 58 cents on the dollar compared to men who did the same work. In over four decades since Equal Pay Act’s passage, that disparity has narrowed at a sluggish pace: in 2001 women still only earned 73% of what a man earned doing the same work, and in 2006 that number was close to 77%. The Paycheck Fairness Act (H.R. 12, S 182), which has passed the House of Representatives and is now in the Senate, promises to bolster the protections of the Equal Pay Act by:

-          Imposing stricter penalties against offending employers by permitting punitive damages

-          Strengthening the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s ability to punish violations

-          Prohibiting punishment of employees who share pay information

-          Restricting the defenses available to employers

-          Facilitating Class Actions

-          Creating additional incentives for model employers

-          Allowing the Secretary of Labor to establish a program to train women in negotiation

The impact of the wage gap is obviously devastating for homes where the sole breadwinner is a single mother, but has significant impact on a great many more homes. According to Kim Gandy of the National Organization of Women,

Sex-based pay discrimination means much more than 23 cents on the dollar -- it can mean hundreds of thousands of dollars over a woman's lifetime that are lost to her and her family. These lost wages can mean the family is unable to afford college tuition or health insurance, and the lowered pensions and social security payments associated with lower income can lead to poverty for elderly women who were not able to save and invest for retirement.¹

Under the Paycheck Fairness Act employers who pay their female employees an unfair wage will be under more scrutiny than ever. If the Act passes the Senate, employers will be prohibited from retaliating against employees who ask for or give comparative pay information, and employers breaking the law will face greater losses than ever. Responsible employers have nothing to fear; irresponsible employers face the toughest penalties yet. 

                If you believe that your employer is unfairly paying you a lower wage based on your gender, contact the Indiana employment law firm of Gibbons Jones, P.C. for a free case evaluation.

¹ http://themiddleclass.org/bill/paycheck-fairness-act-2009