Washington, D.C. – Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet today marked the sixth anniversary of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act being signed into law by calling on Congress to help close the pay gap between women and men working the same jobs. The law overturned a U.S. Supreme Court decision that placed limits on a person’s ability to seek redress for wage discrimination in the workplace.
“Equal pay for equal work is a commonsense idea at the core of our American values,” Bennet said. “Every American, regardless of gender, deserves to be compensated fairly for their work. We’ve taken important steps toward gender equality, but there is still a long way to go. Congress should pass the Paycheck Fairness Act to ensure that Colorado families, many of which depend on two incomes, are fairly compensated for their hard work. We need to ensure that our laws are aligned with our ideals.”
Bennet is a cosponsor of the Paycheck Fairness Act, which would protect employees from retaliation for making inquiries or disclosures concerning employee wages. The bill would also seek to enhance data collection, research, and training with regard to pay discrimination. A small minority of senators have blocked earlier versions of the bill in previous sessions of Congress.