A Legal Question

While the EPA made it illegal to pay women lower wages than men based solely on their sex, women still do not earn equal wages. In 2010, women earned 77% of men’s wages, which is only an improvement of a penny a year since 1963. This is according to Census Bureau data.

The Blade article is referring to Latta's vote against the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009.

The fact that even one person liked Anonymouscowards post is disheartening.

Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act told SCOTUS to stop beating their wives and set things up so even if it's kept secret for 30 years, women being paid a discriminatory wage can still sue the misogynistic bastards into oblivion)

Um...no. That's not what the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act does.

Ledbetter vs. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company set a Supreme Court precedent that suing for pay discrimination must happen within 180 days of the original pay-setting decision.

The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act allows that 180 day time limit to reset with each discriminatory paycheck.

It does not completely eliminate the time limit. Also, there is still a 2-year limit on how much back pay can be collected.

For someone who claims to be so informed with factual information, anonymouscorward sure made a big error above by saying that a woman could sue an employer into oblivion 30 years later.

She would still have to initiate her lawsuit within 180 days of the most recent discriminatory paycheck.

^anonymouscoward, not "corward"...dangit, I should have just said AC. LOL

You are missing my point..the Lily Ledbetter act does nothing to "gurantee" equal pay. All it does is change the statute of limitations in regards to law suits. If someone is against changing the statue of limitations, that does not mean that they "are against equal pay for women." To suggest so is a misrepresentation.

Dappling2, I think that's because a lot of people are misinformed on what exactly the Lilly Ledbetter Act does and does not do.

I do think that the Lilly Ledbetter Act is a good thing. However, I think there are a lot of people who don't realize that the only thing the act does is change the statute of limitations.

(Which is a good thing, of course. But, as you mentioned, doesn't solve or guarantee equal pay either.)

The Lilly Ledbetter Act does HELP "guarantee" equal pay by not letting companies off the hook after 6 months. If they know they can now be sued, they behave arrogantly.

Um, no.

"Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act told SCOTUS to stop beating their wives and set things up so even if it's kept secret for 30 years, women being paid a discriminatory wage can still sue the misogynistic bastards into oblivion)"

FACT: Lilly Ledbetter didn't find out she was being paid less than men until she took early retirement after working 19 years.

FACT: I said "even if it's kept secret for 30 years, women being paid a discriminatory wage can still sue". Note the present tense. As in the case of Lilly Ledbetter who didn't find out until putting in 19 years.

AC 1, mom2 0.

A position should pay the same no matter the gender. Just my $0.02. The only thing that really separates men/vs woman in the work place is maternity leave. I also agree Men under certain circumstances should be allowed similar benefits. (Spouse passes during pregnancy, and such), or more human just allowing a more flexible schedule during those early precious months to also help out equally.

Then again I'm not a father, and as much as I want to be will never be. So my vote probably holds little value.

I used to think that, despite the gruff style, anonymouscoward was at least semi-informed.

Apparently I was wrong.

I am speechless right now. Wow.

Senator Barbara Mikulski has a concise summary of what the Lilly Ledbetter Act does and does not do in an archived press release on her website.

I'd link it now, but I'm posting from my phone at a baseball tournament. AC, I would encourage you to take a look.

I'll post a link when I'm actually on a computer.

I wonder how many times he clicked his own "like this" button to get the thumbs up box. Bi Polar comes to mind.

Are you accusing me, me, and me of having alts? You can only click it once, you know.

You're not speechless, you managed to say that.

Yes, we do have alts. We are Anonymous of Borg, you will be assimilated into our legion.

The only thing that really separates men/vs woman in the work place is maternity leave.

Not so. Physical prowess, physical beauty and sexual harassment also separate the two. Women are also members of a protected class - Age, Color, Disability status, Familial status, Genetic information, National origin, Race, Religion, Sex, Veteran status.

Equal pay for equal work can be a little hard to prove at times. When Main Lady was working for the State of Ohio, she discovered a discrepancy in the pay rates between men and women who were doing the same job. When management was a good deal less than enthusiastic about fixing the situation, Main Lady organized a labor union, participated in union negotiations and got the workers salaries adjusted and back pay given to those that had been cheated out of it for years. Then, since the union was successful, AFSCME horned in, rigged an election and took the whole thing over. And that was that.

The real problem is that if you think you're being discriminated against, you probably are. Proving it is something else, and even if you win a lawsuit it may be a somewhat Pyrrhic victory.

I'm familiar with the physical prowess limitation. At 5' tall, at no time in my life could I handle, without assistance, some landscape installation tasks. I can't even put up or take down the sides of the big dump truck necessary to haul large amounts of plant material to a site or unload it. So far I've usually managed to work smart to avoid my employer having to tie up two people for a job one could handle with the necessary physical strength. But I wonder, if push came to shove, who they would keep if forced to cut back. So, I continue to take extra courses and get extra licensing in my field to increase my value. I dont want to be a protected class. I just dont want to be passed over because of my small stature.

I'm familiar with the physical prowess limitation. At 5' tall...

I'm guessing that at 5' you aren't weighing in at 145 and can bench 190. Truth? So you're the first person in your tribe to learn about the wonders of the class C lever, artificial arm extension and mechanical propulsion. Just how did Yak get that rock embedded in his skull, anyway? Well, at least he's stopped giving you a hard time.

I once watched a team of furniture movers that was priceless. Two men were gorillas and the third was built like a jockey. The little guy carried stuff, but only the things he could lift. Otherwise he measured doorways, held doors open and did all the communication with the customer. He drove the truck, filled out the paperwork and handled all the money. A good arrangement, I thought.

What field are you in, Holland? I was always under the impression you were an entrepreneur.

Used to be. Now I'm a landscape designer and installer. Encore career. Age has not been a barrier. Size is a problem for me. I sure do try to use my wits whenever possible. Always looking for a way to get the job done without brute strength. A 36" rootball is darned heavy.

Going back a few arguments ... Hey, INeedCoffee, men ARE allowed the benefit of paternity leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act as long as the man works for a company that has more than 50 employees. Just like women, they are allowed to take up to 12 weeks off to care for a newborn.

Of course, a company is not required to pay men a dime during their paternity leave. But women don't usually get paid during maternity leave, either. This is why you don't hear of many men taking the leave they are allowed. Not many families can afford to go without any paycheck at all for any length of time, and it just makes more sense for many reasons (in most families) that the mother be the one to take the time off.

I was very fortunate (and very grateful) that when my son was born earlier this year, my husband was able to stay home with us for two weeks -- one unpaid FMLA week, and one week he counted as a paid vacation.