AWF Urges House to Oppose Ledbetter and Paycheck Fairness Act
Starting off the 111th Congress with political kick-backs to trial lawyers, AWF sent the following letter to members of the U.S. House urging them to oppose the Lily Ledbetter Act and the Paycheck Fairness Act.
Dear Representative,
On behalf of the Alliance for Worker Freedom (AWF) and millions of rank and file workers, I am urging you to oppose the misnamed “Paycheck Fairness Act” and the “Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act” (110th Congressional bills, H.R. 1338 and H.R. 2831, respectively).
The “Paycheck Fairness Act” does nothing more than provide political kickbacks to trial lawyers. By eliminating the caps on punitive and compensatory damages, and making punitive and compensatory damages available for even unintentional wage errors and payment mistakes, these provisions make it easier for trial lawyers to file large class actions and impose comparable worth “guidelines.” Congress should not impose artificial “job worth” classifications on private businesses.
Further, the “Paycheck Fairness Act” would encourage American companies to lower costs by moving jobs overseas. At a time when our corporate income tax and labor laws leave us comparatively disadvantaged to the rest of the developed world, these policies crush an already struggling American work force.
The “Ledbetter Fair Pay Act,” as noted by the House Minority Committee on Education and Labor, practically abolishes the statute of limitations for almost all federal discrimination claims, and could exponentially broaden the scope and application of civil rights laws. “Ledbetter” represents the most serious setback to our nation’s civil rights laws to be given significant consideration by the Committee in almost two decades.
If Congress is serious about paycheck-law reform, policies should be put forth which address the ultimate fairness to workers which empower each individual to have complete control of their paycheck. Congress should consider passing national “paycheck protection” legislation that would prohibit corrupt union bosses from involuntarily spending union dues on political campaigns.
AWF will rate final passage of these two bills in our 111th Congressional Scorecard.
Sincerely,
Brian M. Johnson, MPA
Executive Director
cc: All Members of the U.S. House of Representatives
