Federal Legislative Action Alert

YOUR ASSISTANCE IS NEEDED!  The new Congress begins today, and SHRM has learned that the U.S. House of Representatives plans to quickly consider important legislation to address pay discrimination in the workplace. These bills are:

***The Ledbetter Fair Pay Act – would eliminate the statutory time limit for filing pay discrimination claims.

***The Paycheck Fairness Act – would prohibit an employer’s ability to justify paying different salaries to workers based in different geographic locations.

The House is scheduled to vote on both the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and the Paycheck Fairness Act by the end of this week.  Please let your Representative know TODAY that these bills go far beyond reasonable, balanced approaches to address wage discrimination.

Background

Ledbetter Fair Pay Act (H.R. 11) – The Ledbetter legislation is a congressional response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s May 2007 decision in Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.  In that case, the Court held that the 300-day time limit for filing a charge Title VII of the Civil Rights Act starts after the alleged unlawful employment action, and does not re-start a new upon receipt of each successive paycheck

The Ledbetter Fair Pay Act would effectively eliminate the uniform statue of limitations on pay discrimination claims and restart the time clock for filing such a charge with the EEOC upon the receipt of each successive paycheck.  The bill would also re-start the time clock when a retiree receives an annuity check from an employer, and would thus keep employers liable to a discrimination claim potentially decades after an alleged act of misconduct.  The legislation would amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Rehabilitation Act.

Paycheck Fairness Act (H.R. 12) – The Paycheck Fairness Act would amend the Equal Pay Act of 1963, which requires that jobs requiring comparable functions, skills, effort and responsibility in similar working conditions must compensate equally.  Some stakeholders contend that the Equal Pay Act is not sufficient to remedy wage discrimination.  While wage differentials remains an important workplace issue, debate continues over whether the differential is attributable to discrimination or the result of legitimate pay practices such as education, skill, experience, or tenure.

The Paycheck Fairness Act would limit an employer’s ability to justify paying different salaries to workers based in different locations with different costs of living. Second, the bill would lift the caps on compensatory or punitive damages for which employers would be liable, in addition to current liability for back pay.  These damage penalties would apply to even unintentional pay disparities.

SHRM’s Position

SHRM adamantly opposes discrimination based on gender and believes any intentional misconduct against an employee should be promptly addressed and resolved. We also recognize that some court decisions have narrowed the scope of pay discrimination protections.  As a result, we believe that it is appropriate and necessary for Congress to re-examine pay discrimination laws to determine if changes may be needed to restore protection under the law.  However, SHRM opposes any efforts to eliminate the statute of limitations for filing claims or to limit legitimate employer pay practices. As a result, SHRM is opposed to both the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and the Paycheck Fairness Act.  

Action Needed

We have prepared TWO separate letters for you to consider sending your House member in Washington today!  To write your elected official using HRVoice, follow these steps:

1)      Log onto HR Voice by clicking HERE and enter your member number and last name.

2)    Under the heading “Take Immediate Action on these Hot Issues,” click on:

·        “VOTE NO on the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act” and

·        “VOTE NO on the Paycheck Fairness Act”

3)      Feel free to personalize your letters by including specific information about the organization you work for, your experiences in the workplace, and why this legislation would negatively impact your organization.  Just place your cursor on the text of the letter where you would like to edit.

Note:  Since the 111th Congress convenes on January 6, there is a possibility that newly-elected officials have not been assigned e-mail addresses as yet.  Should this be the case with your elected officials, please check back in a day or so to see if their e-mail address has been activated.  SHRM apologizes for this inconvenience.

Visit the web address below to tell your friends about this.
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Written by: Employment Attorney, Michael Patrick O'Brien
Utah State and Salt Lake SHRM legal director
Email: mobrien@joneswaldo.com
Phone: 801-534-7315
Website: www.joneswaldo.com
     Jones Waldo
Legal-mail is a legal and legislative update service sent out about twice a month to various Utah SHRM members and chapters. As a courtesy to SHRM, the Utah law firm of Jones Waldo Holbrook & McDonough P.C. underwrites the costs of the service. If you have any questions or comments, please contact Michael Patrick O'Brien.

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