“It is imperative that we fill the gaps in existing laws so that women receive equal pay for equal work,” stated Noreen Farrell, Executive Director of Equal Rights Advocates. Farrell made her comments today at an event in San Francisco also featuring House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Congressmen George Miller and other advocacy groups and workers celebrating passage of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and the Family and Medical Leave Act.

Four years ago today, President Obama signed the Ledbetter Act into law to ensure that the time limit for bringing pay discrimination claims would renew with each discriminatory paycheck (rather than be tied to when the employer first started discriminating). But in an economy where women earn, on average, 77 cents for every dollar men earn, and women on color fare far worse, with African American women earning 64 cents and Latinas 55 cents for each dollar earned by a white man, the fight for pay equity is far from over. The Paycheck Fairness Act updates and strengthens the Equal Pay Act of 1963 and would give women the tools they need to challenge this prevailing (and embarrassing) wage gap.

As co-counsel representing plaintiffs in Dukes v. Wal-Mart, the class action lawsuit addressing discriminatory pay practices by the nation’s largest retailer, Equal Rights Advocates is deeply committed to achieving wage justice for working women. The Paycheck Fairness Act would help by clearly prohibiting pay secrecy policies that are currently imposed by many employers and were faced by the plaintiffs in the Wal-Mart case, along with many other low wage workers. Pay secrecy policies prevent employees from gaining information necessary to enforce their rights to earn equal pay for equal work, and the Paycheck Fairness Act would help eradicate such policies.

The wage gap results in thousands of dollars in lost income for America’s women and families each year. It hurts women, their families and our economy. Equal Rights Advocates urges the passage of the Paycheck Fairness Act to help working women achieve wage justice. It is time for the administration and Congress to take action to advance this important goal.

Contact: Noreen Farrell, Executive Director, nfarrell@equalrights.org
Work (415.575.2398); cell (510.701.8243)

About ERA: Equal Rights Advocates (ERA), founded in 1974, is a national civil rights organization dedicated to protecting and expanding economic and educational access and opportunities for women and girls. Through its campaign approach—incorporating public education, legislative advocacy, and litigation—ERA seeks to assist women and girls throughout a life-long continuum: ensuring equality in their educational experience, combating sex discrimination in the workforce, and advocating for workplaces hospitable to working families. To learn more about ERA’s work, visit www.equalrights.org.

“Congress has sent a loud and clear message today that it will not fix practices that have caused a gender wage gap in nearly every profession in this country. This complacency makes the continued fight by female retail workers in Dukes v. Wal-Mart as important today as it was when the case was filed over a decade ago,” stated Noreen Farrell, Executive Director of Equal Rights Advocates (ERA). ERA represents the plaintiffs in Dukes v. Wal-Mart along with The Impact Fund, Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll, and Davis, Cowell & Bowe LLP.

It has been almost one year since the Supreme Court handed down its decision on class certification in Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes. Though the Court rejected a nationwide class in the case, the Dukes plaintiffs filed an amended action on behalf of current and former Wal-Mart employees in California. A similar state-focused suit has been filed on behalf of women workers at Wal-Mart from Texas and others are being developed across the country.

This Friday, June 8, 2012, a United States District Court judge in the Northern District of California will consider a motion by Wal-Mart to dismiss the amended complaint filed by plaintiffs in Dukes v. Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart challenges the narrower class action on the grounds that it is precluded by the Supreme Court decision. Plaintiffs strongly reject this argument: “It is about time that Wal-Mart allows these women their day in court. The company can dodge adjudication on the merits of their claims for only so long,” stated Noreen Farrell of Equal Rights Advocates.

The PFA would have eradicated pay secrecy policies faced by the plaintiffs in the Wal-Mart case and other low-wage workers. These policies prevent employees from gaining information necessary to enforce their rights. “We are disappointed that Congress failed to seize the great opportunity offered by the PFA. Equal Rights Advocates remains poised for continued and future efforts to achieve wage justice for working women,” stated ERA staff attorney Jamie Dolkas.

Equal Rights Advocates
www.equalrights.org
Advice & Counseling Hotline: 1-800-839-4372