Well, it didn't take long for Chris Lee to show us he's following in Tom Reynolds footsteps. For years Reynolds marched to the beat of the right-wing Republican leadership, consistently voting against the interests of his constituents. In his first week on the job Lee has demonstrated that we're in for more of the same.
There were two bills passed by the House this week that took up the cause of working people, specifically working women. There were the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and the Paycheck Fairness Act. Both seek to protect working women from sexual discrimination as it pertains to "equal pay for equal work". It truly amazes me that in 2009 anyone would oppose the idea that men and women doing the same job should be paid the same and that employers who fail to do so should be held liable!
The Ledbetter Act gives employees 180 days from the date of their last paycheck to bring action against and employer. Due to a bizarre decision by the conservative Roberts Supreme Court, employees now have 180 days from the first discriminatory paycheck to bring action against their employer. So if an employer has been practicing discrimination for more than six months and employee doesn't discover this discrimination until after the first six months, they currently have no legal recourse. The Ledbetter Act fixes that. Seems pretty reasonable right? Not to Chris Lee and most of his Republican colleagues. Thankfully the bill passed easily, 247-171 and now goes to the Senate. Oh, and a whopping 3 Republicans voted on the side of working women.
The Paycheck Fairness Act would stiffen penalties for employers engaging in gender-based pay discrimination, and provide protection to employees who share salary information with colleagues. This bill also passed easily 256-163. Only 10 Republicans voted "yes".
So on it goes. A new Congressman for the 26th district who votes just like his predecessor: against the interests of working people.
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