[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 69 (Wednesday, June 7, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E910]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           INTRODUCTION OF THE FAIR PAY ANTI-RETALIATION ACT

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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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