Rep. Johnson highlights the third anniversary of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act
LITHONIA, GA – Rep. Hank Johnson (GA-04) announced today that Sunday, January 29, is the third anniversary of the enactment of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, a critical law championing the principle of equal pay for women.
“Achieving equal pay for women was one of the top priorities for the Democratic-led Congress in 2009 – and it was the first bill signed into law by President Obama,” said Rep. Johnson, an original co-sponsor of the legislation. “The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act reaffirmed a core American principle: equal pay for equal work, regardless of gender, race, or background.”
The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act restored basic protections against pay discrimination for women and other workers, ensuring any woman facing unfair treatment would have their day in court. With women making up nearly half of the labor force and mothers increasingly serving as the primary or co-breadwinners for American families, the wage gap hurts families, businesses, and communities.
Today, with women still earning an average of just 77 cents for every dollar a man earns, more must be done to level the playing field for all workers, said Johnson.
“The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act strengthened America’s families – because equal pay is not simply a women’s issue; it’s a family issue,” Johnson said. “For our nation’s women, our work is far from complete. We must act now to build on Lilly Ledbetter, fight discrimination wherever it exists, and put an end to this basic injustice in our economy and society.”
Democrats are committed to taking further steps to eliminate the wage gap and expand equality for women. To meet these goals, President Obama established the Equal Pay Task Force, which is working to ensure that existing equal pay laws are vigorously enforced across the country. It is now time for the 112th Congress to enact the Paycheck Fairness Act to give new teeth to the Equal Pay Act and provide women additional tools to fight pay discrimination. America’s women can’t wait.
“This law is not just about gender discrimination – it’s about fairness for all American workers and families,” said Johnson.
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