WASHINGTON, DC - In honor of Equal Pay Day, U.S. Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) today joined with Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) in introducing the Paycheck Fairness Act.  This legislation will help strengthen federal pay equity laws and ensure equal pay for equal work.

Equal Pay Day was started in 1996 by the National Committee on Pay Equity to publicize the gap between men's and women's wages.  Today represents how far into 2011 women have to work to earn what their male counterparts earned in 2010.  A new report by the National Partnership for Women & Families found that full-time working women in Rhode Island earn $10,191 less each year than their male counterparts ($39,248 per year for women compared to $49,439 per year for men).  The report found the wage gap is particularly harmful to the more than 53,000 Rhode Island households that are headed by women.

"This bill is about ensuring that all Americans are protected from pay discrimination and treated fairly in the workplace, particularly during these tough economic times," said Reed. 

"It is wrong that some women are paid less than men for doing the same work, simply because of their gender.  We have an obligation to make sure all Rhode Islanders receive equal pay for equal work, and this bill will help achieve that important goal," said Whitehouse.

The Paycheck Fairness Act builds on the promise of the Equal Pay Act of 1963 and helps close the pay gap by empowering women to negotiate for equal pay, closing loopholes courts have created in the law, creating strong incentives for employers to obey the laws and strengthening federal outreach and enforcement efforts.
Specifically, the legislation:

•             Clarifies the 'any factor other than sex' defense so an employer trying to justify paying a man more than a woman for the same job must show the disparity is not sex-based; but is job related and is necessary for the business.

•             Prohibits employers from retaliating against employees who discuss or disclose salary information with their co-workers. 

•             Requires the Department of Labor to improve outreach and training efforts to work with employers in order to eliminate pay disparities.

•             Enhances the collection of information on women's and men's wages in order to more fully explore the reasons for the wage gap and help employers in addressing pay disparities.

Congresswoman Rosa L. DeLauro (D-CT) introduced the bill in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The Paycheck Fairness Act was approved by the Democratic-controlled House last year, but it fell two votes shy of the 60  votes needed to move forward to a vote in the Senate.