Pay Discrimination

01/29/2013

"Our Journey is Not Complete" – Equal Pay Requires Passage of Paycheck Fairness Act

By Cynthia Bell, ACLU & Deborah J. Vagins, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 10:31am

In the 50 years since President John Kennedy signed into law the Equal Pay Act of 1963, wages for women still do not equal those of men...

06/06/2012

Equal Pay

An Unhappy Anniversary for the Equal Pay Act

By Deborah J. Vagins, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 5:35pm

Yesterday, on a procedural vote, the U.S. Senate failed to reach the 60 votes needed for the Paycheck Fairness Act, a bill intended to update the Equal Pay Act of 1963, to move forward. Unfortunately, the 52-47 vote means more delay for an already long overdue measure to ensure that women receive equal pay for equal work. In 1963, the year that Congress passed the Equal Pay Act, women earned 59 cents to their male counterparts’ dollar. Although we will celebrate the 49^th anniversary of the Equal Pay Act on June 10, the disparity continues: today, women, on average, earn only 77 cents for every dollar their male counterparts take home, and for women of color, the disparity is even greater.

04/09/2013

Women's Rights in the Workplace

What Would You Do With $11,000?

By Meghan Groob, Media Relations Associate, ACLU at 4:55pm

Imagine looking at your bank statement and seeing $11,000 more than you expected. If you're anything like me, you would immediately start planning how to spend your newfound riches. Should I be responsible and pay off my debt? Or should I finally take that dream vacation to Paris?

This situation isn't hypothetical. Fifty years after President Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act into law, women, on average, still make just 77 cents for every dollar a man makes. That adds up to nearly $11,000 in lost wages every year.

06/04/2012

Equal Pay

The Paycheck Fairness Act: It's Time to Stop the Catch 22

By Deborah J. Vagins, ACLU Washington Legislative Office & Georgeanne M. Usova, Washington Legislative Office at 11:16am

Last week, Terri Kelly testified before the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee about pay discrimination. In her nine year career as a pharmaceutical sales rep, Kelly was extremely successful—one of the best-performing reps in the nation. But despite all her hard work, she knew that she was being paid far less than another employee hired around the same time and in the same position: her husband. Because her employer had a policy in place prohibiting employees from either asking about or sharing information about their wages, Kelly was only able to find out that she was being discriminated against because she happened to be married to her coworker.

American Civil Liberties Union