Woman... Making Trouble Again

The Senate got back to work yesterday, their first formal session since the midterms. And the first thing they took up was S.3772, the Paycheck Fairness Act, which the Repubicans filibustered to death. It's their version of H.R. 12, Rosa DeLauro's bill that passed the House on January 9, 2009 256-163, 10 manistream Republicans abandoning the reactionary GOP leadership to vote for gender equality in the workplace. (The 3 right-wing Blue Dogs who voted with the Republicans on this-- Bobby Bright, Parker Griffith and Walt Minnick-- have all been rejected by their constituents and, thankfully, will no longer be serving in Congress as of January.) This is what, in short, the bill is meant to accomplish:

Amends the portion of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) known as the Equal Pay Act to revise remedies for, enforcement of, and exceptions to prohibitions against sex discrimination in the payment of wages.

Revises the exception to the prohibition for a wage rate differential based on any other factor other than sex. Limits such factors to bona fide factors, such as education, training, or experience.

States that the bona fide factor defense shall apply only if the employer demonstrates that such factor: (1) is not based upon or derived from a sex-based differential in compensation; (2) is job-related with respect to the position in question; and (3) is consistent with business necessity. Avers that such defense shall not apply where the employee demonstrates that: (1) an alternative employment practice exists that would serve the same business purpose without producing such differential; and (2) the employer has refused to adopt such alternative practice.

Revises the prohibition against employer retaliation for employee complaints.
Prohibits retaliation for inquiring about, discussing, or disclosing the wages of the employee or another employee in response to a complaint or charge, or in furtherance of a sex discrimination investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, or an investigation conducted by the employer.

Makes employers who violate sex discrimination prohibitions liable in a civil action for either compensatory or (except for the federal government) punitive damages.

States that any action brought to enforce the prohibition against sex discrimination may be maintained as a class action in which individuals may be joined as party plaintiffs without their written consent.

Authorizes the Secretary of Labor to seek additional compensatory or punitive damages in a sex discrimination action.

Sounds pretty cut and dry, right? I mean it's 2010, not 1810 when this kind of stuff was controversial. Nevertheless, every single Republican-- including so-called "moderates" Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine and putative Democrat Ben Nelson of Nebraska-- decided the best way to proceed was to filibuster the bill to death.

During the election cycle I mentioned that I feared West Virginia's conservative Democratic governor, Joe Manchin, would be an even worse senator than Ben Nelson. This was his very first vote and... he stuck with the Democrats and with the working women of his state. This was President Obama's statement of the filibuster yesterday:

I am deeply disappointed that a minority of Senators have prevented the Paycheck Fairness Act from finally being brought up for a debate and receiving a vote. This bill passed in the House almost two years ago; today, it had 58 votes to move forward, the support of the majority of Senate, and the support of the majority of Americans. As we emerge from one of the worst recessions in history, this bill would ensure that American women and their families aren’t bringing home smaller paychecks because of discrimination. It also helps businesses that pay equal wages as they struggle to compete against discriminatory competition. But a partisan minority of Senators blocked this common sense law. Despite today’s vote, my Administration will continue to fight for a woman’s right to equal pay for equal work.

His Administration is too diplomatic to call Ben Nelson out on this and give him any reason to think there might be some consequences for this kind of behavior-- unlike the way the Republicans have whipped Olympia Snowe into shape. Richard Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO, was less reticent and made it clear to DWT that Nelson was as much a problem as the GOP was on this.

Senate Republicans-- abetted by Senator Nelson-- today disrespected America’s working women by voting to prevent any debate on the Paycheck Fairness Act. Simply put, blocking the Paycheck Fairness Act encourages discrimination of women in the workplace.

Efforts like this legislation to close the income gap in our country are an essential component to long-term economic recovery. Republicans in the Senate have remained content to leave the middle-class and the poor out in the cold in pursuit of their political goals and interests of their Wall Street allies. They have had but one message to the elderly, the unemployed, the uninsured and now even women, ‘No’.

Progressive Mainers-- and women there in general-- were shocked that Collins and Snowe, in effect, killed the bill. Sarah Standiford, executive director of the Maine Women's Lobby said "Right now, Maine women are earning just 77 cents to a man's dollar--the wage gap is actually widening," she says. "It's an issue of fairness, certainly, but it's also, importantly, an issue of economics, for both families and for economic recovery." Snowe responded with a standard GOP talking point she might have been unwilling to regurgitate just a few months ago, claiming the bill "would raise the cost of doing business for all companies." Snowe and Collins are also prepared to kill both the DREAM Act and the repeal of DADT, two things they have supported in the pre-teabagophobic past.