Obama To Sign Executive Orders On Equal Pay

gimmesometruth27

Obama To Sign Executive Orders On Equal Pay

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/06/obama-equal-pay_n_5100361.html

President Barack Obama will sign two new executive orders on equal pay for women Tuesday, Politico reports. The executive actions coincide with "Equal Pay Day" -- the date that symbolizes how far into 2014 women must work to earn the same amount of money men earned last year.

Both executive orders mirror provisions of the Paycheck Fairness Act, which Congress has twice failed to pass. One would prohibit federal contractors from retaliating against employees who share their salary information with each other. The provision is inspired by Lilly Ledbetter, the namesake of the first bill Obama signed on equal pay in 2009, who worked for nearly 20 years at Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. before discovering that men in her same job with equal or lesser experience were earning significantly more money than she was.

The second executive order will instruct the Department of Labor to create new regulations requiring federal contractors to report wage-related data to the government, in the hope that it will hold them more accountable for salary differences based on sex or race.

Women who work full time in the U.S. make an average of 77 cents for every dollar men make -- a number that has remained stagnant for a decade. Researchers who have taken into account factors that may contribute to that gap, including industry, education, college major and location, still find that men get paid 7 percent more than women, according to the American Association of University Women, a non-profit that works to increase equity for women and girls. The gap widens over the course of a woman's career, especially if she has a college degree.

AAUW called Obama's actions "a victory for working families nationwide."

"AAUW applauds the president for ensuring these workers have the freedom to talk about their salaries without fear — a kind of openness that can help close the gender pay gap," said Lisa Maatz, vice president of government relations for the group. "The executive order also sends a clear message to companies awarded government contracts that they cannot discriminate with taxpayer money."

Meanwhile, the Senate will vote on the Paycheck Fairness Act Tuesday, even though the GOP-controlled House is unlikely to bring it to the floor. The bill would codify Obama's two executive orders, which only apply to federal contractors, for most other employers. It would also strengthen penalties for equal pay violations and require employers to demonstrate that salary differences among male and female employees doing the same work are based on factors other than sex.

Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), the ranking member on the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, made it clear at a hearing last week that he opposes the bill. He called it a political move by the Democrats that would only result in "more lawsuits," not equal pay for women.

"We have great differences of opinion here," he told colleagues.





what a tyrant!!!
i really admire him for doing this. if congress won't pass the ledbetter act, go around them. this is 2014. there is absolutely no reason that anybody should be opposed to this.

rgambs

oh but opposed they are! Don't you know we are infringing on their rights to restrict rights? First we made them pay black people for their work, then we made white people pretend to treat them fairly, and now we are forcing them to pay women their due. When will us libbers just let the rich white man show his hate like the old days?

gimmesometruth27

seriously, can anybody give me one single good reason why we should only pay women $ .77 for every dollar a man makes??

anybody??

it is a total shame that there have to be laws made and executive orders enacted to make equal work worthy of equal pay.

brianlux

gimmesometruth27 said:

seriously, can anybody give me one single good reason why we should only pay women $ .77 for every dollar a man makes??

anybody??

it is a total shame that there have to be laws made and executive orders enacted to make equal work worthy of equal pay.

It boggles my mind to think anyone would oppose this. It also boggles my mind that it has taken this long for this to happen. Good for President Obama and good for everyone who supports this important woman's issue. Congratulations, ladies, it's about time!

unsung

Does it mean that he will start paying equal pay?

http://www.google.com/gwt/x?u=http://dailycaller.com/2014/04/06/obama-looks-to-close-wage-gap-while-paying-female-staffers-less-than-men/?advD=1248,657950&ei=O6dCU5-NGqTSsge3tIDQBw&wsc=yh

brianlux

unsung said:

Does it mean that he will start paying equal pay?

http://www.google.com/gwt/x?u=http://dailycaller.com/2014/04/06/obama-looks-to-close-wage-gap-while-paying-female-staffers-less-than-men/?advD=1248,657950&ei=O6dCU5-NGqTSsge3tIDQBw&wsc=yh

My guess is, yes, he (or whom ever pays them) will start giving women equally pay.

Check out the movie "Lee Daniels' The Butler". First off, it's a great movie staring the inimitable Forest Whitaker that says a lot about the progress African Americans have made over the last 100 years and secondly (a minor point mostly only relevant here), it illustrates that the president really has little to do with paying white house staff.

hedonist

Why do I feel as if I've gotten a pat on the head?

I've always felt (and fortunately, have experienced) that pay should be commensurate with skill and experience. No one should be cut down - or, by the same token, elevated - based on gender or other similar factors.

hedonist

Wait - so this applies to federal contractors only?

buck502000

Less government, please.

gimmesometruth27

hedonist said:

Wait - so this applies to federal contractors only?

the executive order does.

this move is going to force the hand of congress to have an up or down vote on the ledbetter act. it will either pass or fail on party lines and the republicans are going to have to justify their nay vote, or defend their decision to not bring it to the floor for debate and vote, for the rest of history. brilliant move by obama.

gimmesometruth27

buck502000 said:

Less government, please.

are you ok with paying a woman $.77 on the dollar? if so, why? what reasons do you have?

gimmesometruth27

brianlux said:

unsung said:

Does it mean that he will start paying equal pay?

http://www.google.com/gwt/x?u=http://dailycaller.com/2014/04/06/obama-looks-to-close-wage-gap-while-paying-female-staffers-less-than-men/?advD=1248,657950&ei=O6dCU5-NGqTSsge3tIDQBw&wsc=yh

My guess is, yes, he (or whom ever pays them) will start giving women equally pay.

Check out the movie "Lee Daniels' The Butler". First off, it's a great movie staring the inimitable Forest Whitaker that says a lot about the progress African Americans have made over the last 100 years and secondly (a minor point mostly only relevant here), it illustrates that the president really has little to do with paying white house staff.

exactly. the president does not set the wages for house staff. i am sure that when called out on this there will be adjustments made so pay is going to be equal.

hedonist

I'd guess they'd have had to justify it thus far (though how they can is beyond me).

"It would also strengthen penalties for equal pay violations and require employers to demonstrate that salary differences among male and female employees doing the same work are based on factors other than sex."

Totally for this, and hope it applies not just to the aspect of gender.

(ps...I'm surprised nobody's woohoo'd at the Ledbetter name )

gimmesometruth27

unsung said:

Does it mean that he will start paying equal pay?

http://www.google.com/gwt/x?u=http://dailycaller.com/2014/04/06/obama-looks-to-close-wage-gap-while-paying-female-staffers-less-than-men/?advD=1248,657950&ei=O6dCU5-NGqTSsge3tIDQBw&wsc=yh

from the article you posted:

"Despite advocates’ cheers about paycheck equity, the Obama White House has paid women less than men for years.

According to a Daily Caller analysis of “2013 Annual Report to Congress on White House Staff

,” the most recent available data on White House pay, the White House paid women an estimated 11.8 percent less than men in 2013.

The year prior White House paid women 13 percent less than men — and in 2011, according to the Free Beacon, women were

paid 18 percent less.

To be sure, all the analysed years were better than what the federal government says is the current wage gap: 23 percent."

there has been a trend towards equality the last few years.

plus, this is a "daily caller analysis", so take that for what it is worth....

unsung

If it is true I'll take it as FACT, despite your attempts to discredit the article based merely on the source.

And I am not personally willing to pay anyone, but if they are willing to work for $.77 on the dollar then what's the issue? Equal pay? What if there is a line of willing women applicants at the current pay structure? Are you saying that government knows what's best for them and they have no idea if that money is appropriate compensation?

Any government that says that people need "this much to survive" can just as easily say that people "only need this much to survive".

Less government, limited to the Constitution. More government is not the answer.

gimmesometruth27

daily caller analysis. i haven't seen any other sources backing it or independently reporting it. might as well be a breitbart article. they at least begrudgingly reported that the gap is less than it was 2 years ago and less than the current federal wage gap.

you are not willing to pay anyone? that is interesting...i am thinking most conservative business owners, like the waltons, would agree with you. we have a minimum wage that essentially prevents business owners from saying "i WOULD pay you less, but i CAN'T."

but this is in line with republican thinking that women deserve less than men.

buck502000

gimmesometruth27 said:

buck502000 said:

Less government, please.

are you ok with paying a woman $.77 on the dollar? if so, why? what reasons do you have?

People do not like to be forced to do things. Where and when it stop?

hedonist

unsung said:

Any government that says that people need "this much to survive" can just as easily say that people "only need this much to survive".

I tend to agree with this. No one - whether an entity or an individual - has the right to make that call for me, except me.

As to pay...if I owned / ran a company, I'd say X position is worth X amount. Who gives a shit if the person capable of filling that position and performing the job well is a woman - or for that matter, gay, black, Christian, Muslim?

(and honestly, I don't think my conscience would allow me to pay someone below their worth simply because they're willing to accept it)

EarlWelsh

buck502000 said:

What about all the men who get paid less than women do for the same work?

That only happens in heterosexual porn.

buck502000

What about all the men who get paid less than women do for the same work?

buck502000

EarlWelsh said:

buck502000 said:

What about all the men who get paid less than women do for the same work?

That only happens in heterosexual porn.

I think Obama should investigate........