Blog of Rights
Deborah J.
Vagins

Deborah Vagins is senior legislative counsel at the ACLU Washington Legislative Office. She leads the Washington Legislative Office’s civil rights advocacy efforts and develops pro-active strategies on pending federal legislation and executive branch actions concerning racial justice, education, employment discrimination, voting rights, and disability rights. Vagins has been instrumental in advocating for major civil rights legislation, including the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 and the 2006 Voting Rights Act reauthorization, among others..

 

Before joining the ACLU in 2005, Vagins served as the acting deputy general counsel and senior attorney-advisor to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. Prior to that, Vagins was an associate at Cohen, Milstein, Hausfeld & Toll, where she litigated high-profile nationwide civil rights class actions. She represented more than 1.5 million women from Wal-Mart in the largest Title VII employment discrimination class action in history. She was also an associate at Sidley & Austin in the civil, criminal and constitutional litigation practice group and founded the firm’s Committee for the Recruitment and Retention of Women. Earlier Vagins worked at EMILY’s List and clerked at the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project. Vagins graduated magna cum laude from the Washington College of Law at American University. She received her B.A. with distinction from Swarthmore College.

 


 

06/10/2009

Equality in Our Pay Envelopes

By Deborah J. Vagins, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 5:47pm

Today marks the 46th anniversary of President Kennedy's signing of the Equal Pay Act of 1963. That historic act signified our nation's commitment to ensuring that women are not paid less than men for equal work. Upon signing the bill, President Kennedy proclaimed that the bill "affirms our determination that when women enter the labor force they will find equality in their pay envelope." Indeed, the bill helped women make significant strides towards equality in the workforce. Unfortunately, over time, loopholes and weak remedies have made this historic law less effective than Congress originally intended. Therefore, there is no more fitting way to commemorate this historic anniversary than to push for passage of S. 182, the Paycheck Fairness Act, a necessary update to the Equal Pay Act.

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04/27/2009

It’s Common Cents – Close the Wage Gap for Women

By Deborah J. Vagins, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 8:59pm

(Originally posted on Daily Kos.)

Does 22 cents mean much to you? It should, if like most Americans, you need every cent from your paycheck that you have rightfully earned.

Unfortunately, 45 years after the enactment of the Equal Pay Act – a law originally intended to secure equal pay for equal work – women who work full time still earn, on average, 78 cents for every dollar men earn. Over time, loopholes and weak remedies, further eroded by adverse court decisions, have made the Equal Pay Act less effective in combating wage discrimination. Not only has the Equal Pay Act been unable to close this gap, but each year, this ongoing wage disparity is marked on Equal Pay Day. Sadly, Equal Pay Day – this year April 28 – represents the day into 2009 that a woman must work to earn the same that a man earned in 2008.

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02/12/2009

Liberty and Economic Justice For All

By Deborah J. Vagins, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 12:45pm

(Originally posted on Daily Kos.)

Now more than ever, a family’s basic economic survival depends on pay equity. Without the ability to bring home every dollar rightfully earned without regard to gender, race, religion, age, or disability, there can be no economic justice for workers and true equality for all Americans.

President Obama probably best explained the importance of the fundamental fairness of equal pay to our country’s economic security when he signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, a bill that restores the right of employees to challenge ongoing pay discrimination. He noted at the White House:

So in signing this bill today, I intend to send a clear message: That making our economy work means making sure it works for everyone. That there are no second-class citizens in our workplaces, and that it's not just unfair and illegal — but bad for business — to pay someone less because of their gender, age, race, ethnicity, religion or disability. And that justice isn't about some abstract legal theory, or footnote in a casebook — it's about how our laws affect the daily realities of people’s lives: their ability to make a living and care for their families and achieve their goals.

Ultimately, though, equal pay isn't just an economic issue for millions of Americans and their families, it's a question of who we are — and whether we're truly living up to our fundamental ideals. Whether we'll do our part, as generations before us, to ensure those words put on paper some 200 years ago really mean something — to breathe new life into them with the more enlightened understandings of our time.
Today, thanks to the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, the right to challenge an unlawful pay gap in court has been restored. Unfortunately, the pay gap itself still exists — women still on average only earn 78 cents for every dollar that men earn for doing the same job. The numbers are even worse for women of color.

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02/05/2009

Pay Equity: Restoration and Improvement

By Deborah J. Vagins, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 4:12pm

"With this bill in place, we now can move forward to where we all hope to be — improving the law, not just restoring it."

— Lilly Ledbetter, On the signing of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act
at the White House on 1/29/09

On January 29, 2009, I shared an amazing moment with Lilly Ledbetter as President Obama signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act — the first bill he signed into law. It was a truly moving morning and the culmination of years of struggle by Ms. Ledbetter. A struggle that began at Goodyear Tire, where she worked for 19 years, overtime and double-shifts, being paid less than her male coworkers and withstanding degrading treatment. And then a struggle that continued, as she challenged the pay discrimination though a hostile appellate process that reversed decades of law that would have protected her. While she will never regain the years of wages pocketed by her discriminating employer, Ms. Ledbetter, a broad coalition of organizations, and many concerned Members of Congress worked successfully to undue the Supreme Court's injustice for other workers.

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01/29/2009

A Step Towards Fair Pay With a Stroke of a Pen

By Deborah J. Vagins, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 6:49pm

(Originally posted on DailyKos.)

Just hours ago, I shared an incredible moment with Lilly Ledbetter — who stood in the White House and watched President Obama sign a piece of legislation bearing her name. One can only imagine what that feels like.

But, we know this much: The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act struck a powerful blow for justice not just for her, but for anyone who has been victimized by wage discrimination.

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10/20/2008

The Highest Priority: A Smooth and Fair Election

By Deborah J. Vagins, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 10:28am

During a September 8, 2008 meeting with the ACLU and other civil rights groups, Attorney General Michael Mukasey called the "smooth" running of this election the Department of Justice's highest priority. Despite the ACLU's repeated requests for DOJ to take action to protect voters and stop suppressive tactics, so far, DOJ is not living up to its commitment.

For example, right now, two weeks before the election, the government is engaging in a highly-publicized attempt to raise the "specter of voter fraud" against groups who have been working hard to register poor and minority voters. Unfortunately, DOJ is doing little, if anything, to help the thousands, maybe millions of eligible voters who may turn up on Election Day, just to be sent home. DOJ should be addressing true threats to the election this year, such as voter suppression schemes, unlawful purging, and racially motivated voter intimidation.

Election officials should concentrate their limited resources on expanding access to the ballot box and protecting voters. Mickey Mouse is not coming to an election booth near you. However, when eligible voters do show up, only to find they have been improperly purged from the rolls, we will wonder why DOJ did not enforce the laws that could have prevented it.

Even in this short time before the election, there are several things DOJ could do to protect voters:

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04/25/2008

We Need Fair Play on Fair Pay

By Deborah J. Vagins, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 1:37pm
On April 23, 2008, the Senate failed to address important wage discrimination legislation, H.R. 2831, The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2007. This bill faced a very tough procedural vote Wednesday night, which fell just shy of the 60 votes needed to move on to a Senate vote on final passage.

Had the Senate voted to address H
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