[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 45 (Thursday, March 28, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3157-S3158]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. HARKIN (for himself, Mr. Kerry, Mr. Simon, Mr. Leahy, Ms. 
        Mikulski, and Mr. Inouye):
  S. 1650. A bill to amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to 
prohibit discrimination in the payment of wages on account of sex, 
race, or national origin, and for other purposes; to the Committee on 
Labor and Human Resources.


                        THE FAIR PAY ACT OF 1996

 Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, the Equal Pay Act, passed in 1963, 
made it illegal to discriminate against women when determining pay 
levels for the same job. Since then, we have made some progress in 
reducing employment discrimination against women. But we cannot have 
equality of opportunity in the workplace without equality and fairness 
in wages and salary. Even though many women have moved up and out of 
traditionally female jobs, stereotypes and historical discrimination 
remain firmly imbedded in pay scales.
  Current law has not done enough to combat wage discrimination when 
employers routinely pay lower wages to jobs that are dominated by 
women. That is why I am introducing the Fair Pay Act of 1996. The Fair 
Pay Act is designed to pick up where the Equal Pay Act left off by 
paying women equally for equivalent work.
  The heart of the Fair Pay Act will make it illegal to discriminate 
against employees on the basis of sex, race, and national origin by 
requiring equal pay for work in jobs that are comparable in skill, 
effort, responsibility, and working conditions. Women and minorities 
make up 57 percent of the workforce and their salaries are an essential 
component of family income. It is a fundamental issue of fairness to 
provide equal pay for work that is of equal value to an employer.
  Wage gaps can result from differences in education, experience, or 
time in the workforce and the Fair Pay Act does not interfere with 
that. But, just as there is a glass ceiling in the American workplace, 
there is also what I call a glass wall--where women are on the exact 
same level as their male coworkers. They have the same skills, they 
have the same type of responsibilities, but they are still obstructed 
from receiving the same pay. It is a hidden barrier, but a barrier all 
the same. And it is keeping out equality, opportunity, and above all 
fairness. The Fair Pay Act is about knocking down the glass wall.
  To illustrate, consider a study done in the county of Los Angeles 
that compared the job requirements and salaries of children's social 
service workers who were mostly women and probation officers who were 
mostly men. The two jobs required the same skills and education, and 
the working conditions were similar. However, the social service 
workers were paid an average of $35,000 a year while the probation 
officers were paid an average of $55,000 a year--a $20,000 difference 
in salary.
  Over a lifetime, that kind of wage gap adds up. The average woman 
loses $420,000 over a lifetime due to unequal pay practices. Such gaps 
in income are life changing: it can mean the difference between welfare 
and self-sufficiency, owning a home or renting, sending your kids to 
college or to flip burgers, or having a decent retirement instead of an 
uncertain old age.
  The Fair Pay Act is a commonsense business issue. Women and 
minorities make up over half of the work force and fair pay is 
essential to attract and keep good workers.
  The Fair Pay Act is an economic issue. Working women, after all, 
don't get special discounts when they buy milk. They can't get a 
special rate buying clothes for their kids. Bread and gasoline don't 
cost less for working women than working men. And women and minorities 
are certainly taxed at the same rate as men are, yet they don't get any 
break when April 15 rolls around.
  The Fair Pay Act is a family issue. Family budgets are getting 
squeezed by the day. When women are discriminated against in their pay, 
they aren't the only ones who lose. When women aren't paid what they're 
worth, husbands and children get cheated too.
  Now, I've heard the critics. Some say there is no discrimination in 
the workplace. It's just the natural economic forces paying workers 
their fair share.
  Others say that this is a decision that should be left to the private 
sector alone. If the private sector wants to discriminate, they say, 
that should be their right. Well, we as a society have said 
discrimination in any form should not be tolerated and that's what this 
bill is about.
  There is perhaps no other form of discrimination that has as direct 
an impact on the day-to-day lives of workers as economic 
discrimination. The Equal Pay Act was designed to end that. And it has 
helped. But we need to go further to address economic discrimination 
for equivalent work.
  And most importantly, the American people want fair pay legislation. 
The Fair Pay Act has already been endorsed by a wide variety of groups 
and organizations. In addition, polling data consistently show that 
over 70 percent of the American people support a law requiring the same 
pay for men and women in jobs requiring similar skills

[[Page S3158]]

and responsibilities. Please join me in supporting the Fair Pay Act of 
1996. I welcome your ideas and suggestions.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that additional material be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                      We Support the Fair Pay Act

       A. Philip Randolph Institute.
       Adams National Bank.
       AFL-CIO.
       AFSCME.
       American Association of Retired Persons.
       American Association of University Women.
       American Civil Liberties Union.
       American Federation of Government Employees.
       American Library Association.
       American Nurses Association.
       American Physical Therapy Association.
       Americans for Democratic Action.
       Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers International Union.
       B'nai B'rith Women.
       Business and Professional Women/USA.
       Center for the Advancement of Public Policy.
       Coal Employment Project.
       Coalition of Black Trade Unionists.
       Coalition of Labor Union Women.
       Dulles Area NOW.
       Episcopal Church Center, Women in Mission & Ministry.
       Equal Rights Advocates.
       Federally Employed Women.
       Federation of Organizations for Professional Women (FOPW).
       Financial Women International Fund for the Feminist 
     Majority.
       General Federation of Women's Clubs.
       Industrial Union Department, AFL-CIO.
       Institute for Research on Women's Health.
       International Brotherhood of Teamsters.
       Int'l Union of Electronic, Electrical, Salaried, Machine & 
     Furn. Workers Union.
       International Union, United Auto Workers.
       Hubbard and Revo-Cohen, Inc.
       Kentucky Commission on Women.
       League of United Latin American Citizens.
       MANA: A National Latina Organization.
       National Association for Commissions for Women.
       National Association for Girls and Women in Sport.
       National Association of Social Workers.
       National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
       National Committee on Pay Equity.
       National Council of Jewish Women.
       National Council of Negro Women.
       National Education Association.
       National Federation of Federal Employees.
       National Organization for Women.
       National Treasury Employees Union.
       National Urban League.
       National Women's Law Center.
       Network: A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby.
       Office and Professional Employees Int'l Union.
       Self Help for Equal Rights.
       Service Employees International Union.
       The Newspaper Guild.
       UNITE! Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile 
     Employees.
       United Food and Commercial Workers Union.
       United Methodist Church.
       Utility Workers Union of America.
       Wider Opportunities for Women.
       Women Employed.
       Women in Communications, Inc.
       Women on the Job.
       Women of the Job Taskforce.
       Women Work! The National Network for Women's Employment.
       Women's Information Network.
       Women's Legal Defense Fund.
       Women's Self Employment Project.
       YWCA of the USA.

 Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, today, more than half our population 
faces discrimination every day. Hard to believe, but it is true.
  Women currently earn, on average, 28 percent less than men. That 
means for every dollar a man earns, a woman earns only 72 cents. Over a 
lifetime, the average woman will earn $420,000 less than the average 
man based solely on her sex. This is unacceptable. We must correct this 
gross inequity, and we must correct it now.
  How is this possible with our Federal laws prohibiting 
discrimination? It is possible because we in Congress have failed to 
protect one of the most fundamental human rights--the right to be paid 
fairly for an honest day's work.
  Unfortunately, our laws ignore wage discrimination against women and 
minorities, which continues to fester like a cancer in workplaces 
across the country. The Fair Pay Act of 1996 would close this legal 
loophole by prohibiting discrimination based on wages.
  I do not pretend that this act will solve all the problems that women 
and minorities face in the workplace. It is, however, an essential 
piece of the puzzle.
  Equal pay for equal work is often a subtle problem that is difficult 
to combat. And it does not stand alone as an issue that women and 
minorities face in the workplace. It is deeply intertwined with the 
problem of unequal opportunity. Closing this loophole is not enough if 
we fail to provide the opportunity for women and minorities, regardless 
of their merit, to reach higher paying positions.
  The Government, by itself, cannot change the attitudes and 
perceptions of individuals or private businesses in hiring and 
advancing women and minorities, but it can set an example. Certainly, 
President Clinton has shown great leadership by appointing an 
unprecedented number of women to his administration. Earlier this week, 
the Department of Defense, the Nation's largest employer of women, 
reached a milestone when President Clinton appointed the first female 
three-star general, Maj. Gen. Carol Mutter of the U.S. Marine Corps. I 
share her sentiment when she said she could not wait until there were 
no more firsts for women. The Government has a long way to go, however, 
since General Mutter will be the lone woman out of more than 100 three-
star officers.
  The private sector also has a long way to go to provide equal 
opportunity. The report released by the Glass Ceiling Commission last 
year found that 95 percent of the senior managers of Fortune 1000 
industrial and Fortune 500 companies are white males. The Glass Ceiling 
Commission also found that when there are women and minorities in high 
places, their compensation is lower than white males in similar 
positions. This wage inequality is the issue we seek to address today.
  In the next decade, the changing nature of the workplace--women and 
minority men will make up 62 percent of the work force by the year 
2005--will force businesses to look at the larger pool of qualified 
Americans to continue to be competitive in the marketplace. As this 
change occurs, we must demand fair pay for equal work.
  For the first time in our country's long history, this bill outlaws 
discrimination in wages paid to employees in equivalent jobs solely on 
the basis of a worker's sex, race, or national origin. I say it is 
about time. I commend Senator Harkin for introducing the Fair Pay Act, 
and I am proud to be an original cosponsor of it.
  The Fair Pay Act would remedy gender and race wage gaps under a 
balanced approach that takes advantage of the employment expertise of 
the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission [EEOC], while providing 
flexibility to small employers . In addition, it would safeguard 
legitimate wage differences caused by a seniority or merit pay system. 
And the legislation directs the EEOC to provide educational materials 
and technical assistance to help employers design fair pay policies.
  It is a basic issue of fairness to provide equal pay for work of 
equal value. The Fair Pay Act makes it possible for women and 
minorities to finally achieve this fundamental fairness. I urge my 
colleagues to support this legislation.
                                 ______