[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 22 (Wednesday, February 4, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E198]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  LILLY LEDBETTER FAIR PAY ACT OF 2009

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                               speech of

                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, January 27, 2009

  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, in my earlier remarks on the Lilly Ledbetter 
Fair Pay Act of 2009, I highlighted the first-rate work of AFSCME 
Council 26, affiliated with the American Federation of State, County & 
Municipal Employees (AFSCME), AFL-CIO, in a sex discrimination lawsuit 
brought by female custodians against the Architect of the Capitol, 
which is another way of saying the Congress of the United States of 
America. The women custodians were being paid one dollar less than 
their male co-workers. I referred to the female custodians' lawsuit in 
my remarks because without AFSCME's representation, this discrimination 
right here in Congress might never have been uncovered, just as Lilly 
Ledbetter did not discover the equal pay violations until after she 
retired.
  The women's Equal Pay Act lawsuit was historic as well because it was 
the first class-action under the Congressional Accountability Act that 
holds Congress to the same employment laws as our constituents. The 
class was expertly represented by lawyers Barbara Kraft and Sarah 
Starrett. By getting the women class certified, AFSCME and its lawyers 
were able to exert maximum leverage and, therefore, negotiate a just 
settlement with the Architect of the Capitol. The case underscores the 
importance of undoing the Supreme Court's Ledbetter decision and 
restoring the long-standing interpretation of the Equal Pay Act. The 
Congress, the body representing the people, had been systematically and 
shamefully discriminating against its own workers.
  I had been a strong supporter of these women since they first filed 
their lawsuit. As a former chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity 
Commission, who had responsibility for enforcing the Equal Pay Act, I 
felt at the time that it was my obligation to bring the female 
custodians' case to the attention of other Members, and I spoke on the 
floor about the case in March 2000. I joined AFSCME and the women at a 
press conference on Equal Pay Day on May 10, 2000, to push for equal 
pay for these women as well as all other women in the workforce. After 
the women settled with the government, I was delighted when I was 
invited to help hand-deliver their settlement checks.
  The Ledbetter decision undermined the ability of unions like AFSCME 
to uncover and protect workers from discrimination, and I was proud to 
cite the work of AFSCME, Barbara Kraft, Sarah Starrett and the women 
custodians of the U.S. Congress as the best evidence of the need for 
the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009.

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