Senate Passes Important Pay Equity Bill

January 23, 2009

On Thursday, the Senate passed by a vote of 61-36 the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act (S. 181) which would ensure that women and families get the pay that they deserve to survive these difficult economic times. The bill restores longstanding protections against wage discrimination. A number of harmful amendments were offered by several Republican Senators in an attempt to weaken the legislation, including a Right-to-Work amendment by Sen. Jim DeMint (SC). All were defeated. The House passed a similar bill (H.R. 11) on January 9, and is expected to approve the Senate bill shortly. President Obama has promised to sign it into law. Read more from the AFL-CIO Now blog.