The Fair Pay Restoration Act Will Restore Work Place Dignity

By: Chris Lugo

Working women deserve equal opportunity in the workplace. Unfortunately, the Supreme Court dealt a huge blow to the rights of working women and civil rights protection recently when they voted by a decision of 5-4 to overturn basic worker's protection. It has been nearly forty years since the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which was supposed to help level the playing field in the workplace, but the sobering reality is that women still only make 68 cents for every dollar that a man earns. One of the reasons that this gap continues to persist is because of discriminatory pay practices.

There is a remedy to this deep social inequity which the Congress is considering that would give working women a break. It is called the Fair Pay Restoration Act, Senate Bill 1843. This act would remedy the recent decision of a conservative Supreme Court by reinstating the long standing wage discrimination protections which have been fundamental to women's progress in the workplace. The bill was passed by the House along party lines but is still being stalled in the Senate. I find this situation unacceptable. It is time for the Senate to vote for the Fair Pay Restoration Act (S. 1843) so that women will be able to earn equal pay in the workplace.

The reality of the workplace is that it is difficult for employees to discover the salaries and raises of other employees. Unfortunately this means that it is also difficult for an employee to discover if they are being paid a comparable wage, or if they are being discriminated against in terms of their salary. The Supreme Court ruled that employees must discover pay discrimination within 180 days of when the pay discrepancy occurred. This is a bad decision for employees and especially for women and minorities. It means that if an employer can get away with hiding the fact of their discrimination for six months, then after that time there is nothing an employee can do to challenge this decision or demand equal pay.

The Fair Pay Restoration Act will remove these unreasonable time limits which will allow victims of discrimination to seek back pay and damages when they become aware of this injustice. Women deserve fair pay in the workplace and this bill is an important component of ensuring they get it. I promise to take every step I can to reduce the pay gap and utilize the tools of federal law to insure that all Americans are paid fairly for their work.