INTRODUCTION OF THE FAIR PAY ANTI-RETALIATION ACT -- HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON (Extensions of Remarks - June 07, 2000)

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HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Wednesday, June 7, 2000

Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, each year, the President, in his State of the Union address, exhorts the Congress to honor families with equal pay for women. Each year, the Congress, as if on cue, rises in agreement and applauds itself. It's time not only to rise to the President's words, but to rise to the occasion.

Two bills provide the opportunity. My Fair Pay Act directly attacks the major pay problem women face in today's workplace--the often discriminatory pay reserved for the traditional sex-segregated jobs that most women perform. If not my bill, surely it's time to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act, which I strongly support. That bill is not a new departure, but it does strengthen existing enforcement. The best evidence that stronger Equal Pay Act enforcement is needed is right here under our congressional noses. The women custodial workers who serve the U.S. Congress have waged a three-year battle alleging that they are paid a dollar less hourly than men who do the same or similar work. The women's lawsuit has been validated by a federal court as a certified class action. As a former chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, I know a solid Equal Pay Act case when I see one. As a Member of the Congress, I now know what it means to be an embarrassed defendant who may lose an Equal Pay Act case any day.

Today, to get some movement on equal pay for American women, to get more than a rise out of the Congress, to call the question, I am introducing as a separate bill the non-retaliation section common to both the Paycheck Fairness Act and the Fair Pay Act. Both bills make it a violation to intimidate employees who inquire of their fellow workers or others about the pay these employees receive or the pay practices of the employer. In the absence of more comprehensive legislation, this non-retaliation provision at least would allow women to engage in self-help where necessary by seeking pay increases based on what they, themselves, learn about the pay practices where they work.

Our message is simple: Start with the Fair Pay Act, or start with the Paycheck Fairness Act, or start with the provision that allows women, themselves, to start with self-enforcement. Start where you like--but Congress must not go home for the July 4th recess without making a start on fair pay for American women and their families. We've had it with standing up for the right words. It's time to stand up and be counted for an equal pay bill.
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