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A Step Towards Fair Pay With a Stroke of a Pen(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. Today the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act became law and overturned the Supreme Court decision in the Ledbetter v. Goodyear case, in which employees lost their right to their day in court for ongoing pay discrimination. And it became the first major bill that President Obama signed.
With the stoke of a pen — actually several pens, President Obama made today a good day for all employees, who — regardless of gender, race, national origin, age or disability — are illegally receiving smaller paychecks than their colleagues.
Before signing the bill, President Obama made clear that this bill is not just about Lilly Ledbetter or his two daughters or the countless women who are still facing unlawful pay disparities; it is also about the families who have to make ends meet with less because of wage discrimination: Equal pay is by no means just a women's issue — it's a family issue. It's about parents who find themselves with less money for tuition and child care; couples who wind up with less to retire on; households where one breadwinner is paid less than she deserves; that's the difference between affording the mortgage — or not; between keeping the heat on, or paying the doctor bills — or not. And in this economy, when so many folks are already working harder for less and struggling to get by, the last thing they can afford is losing part of each month's paycheck to simple and plain discrimination.But even more, by signing the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act into law, with the stroke of his pen President Obama sent a clear message about our values as Americans. Today, we all took a step closer to ending workplace discrimination. Today, our commitment to equality and equal access to the American dream gleamed a little brighter. Today, we all got a little closer to building an America we can be proud of, once again.
But there is more to be done. The next stop for the fair pay fight: the Paycheck Fairness Act. The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act restored rights lost in the civil rights rollback of recent years. The next step is to amend the Equal Pay Act — to close, for once and for all, the pay gap between men and women and allow employees to finally bring home every dollar they rightfully earn.
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Jan 30th, 2009 at 9:42am
Very jealous, Deb.
Jan 30th, 2009 at 10:16am
ACLU Legislative Counsel Deborah Vagins is my hero!
Jan 30th, 2009 at 1:59pm
And with the stroke of a pen, Obama broke his promise of January 20, 2009, to "publish all non-emergency legislation to the website for five days, and allow the public to review and comment before the President signs it".
Jan 31st, 2009 at 2:29pm
And then God sent Barack Hussein Obama!
Feb 2nd, 2009 at 2:55pm
Real Deal
Every request for bail-out shows faith in socialism, every (tax) dollar spent on corporations and military support is real socialism. The victimizers prove socialized medicine is the Healthy alternative to wealth redistribution. Citizen entitlement could pay for participation with health-care agencies expediting value extension of available "training for heath service information investment.
The denial of socialism is from those denying wealth advantages (that are NOT democratic w/o capitalistic excuses).
There is no capitalism w/o capital. Socialized medicine is Common Sense (first paragraph.)
Doctors could prescribe Support Compensation to feed a "REAL DEAL" credit that denies debt. Every bail-out dollar neutralizes a "medical" debt (doctors, hospitals, research institute, etc.)
Education should neutralize debt too, considering the military model.
Advertising intent of journalism stylizing shows Real Deal integrity needed to balance or upset, the correction is a paradoxical Information Age.
The (free) Internet was the most generous opportunity to re-conceptualize waste management in documental scale, access to truth is exponential.
Supportive services can become more self-actualizing from contribution values. Survey design and interview experience creates case-work.
The lacking wealth can be treated with health value compensation, access to attention.
Entitlement of representation admits greed's tendency to victimize reflexively. Treatment could be more symptomatic (as a value.)
Like teachers and housewives, doctors were de-valued because they didn't produce a product. Neutralizing the imbalance of policy disrespect would free timing values.
So-called health-care "products" could be statistical expediters (encouragers) of practicing diagnostics, trained to "Do No Harm."
Support is the new value demand patriotism should supply.
Mar 30th, 2009 at 1:00pm
MY EX-HUSBAND DR. DONALD TYNES DRUGGED RAPED ME AND OUR CHILDREN AND MORE. HIS JUDGE FRIENDS, ONE THE CHIEF OVER WAYNE COUNTY IN DETROIT MICHIGAN PROTECT HIM THREATENING US TO LET GO OF CRIMES. NEED THE OUTSIDE OF STATE OF MICHIGAN ATTENTION SOON.