April, 09 2014, 01:20pm EDT
Paycheck Fairness Act Fails to Move Forward in Senate
WASHINGTON
The Senate today stopped the Paycheck Fairness Act from moving forward with a vote of 53-44 against cloture. The Paycheck Fairness Act, an update to the Equal Pay Act of 1963, would give workers stronger tools to help end wage discrimination in the workplace. President Obama took executive action on equal pay during an event at the White House yesterday.
"By blocking this bill, a few members of the Senate have failed to even allow debate on giving women the most basic of protections: a safety net against egregious discrimination in the workplace," said Deborah J. Vagins, ACLU senior legislative counsel and co-chair of the National Paycheck Fairness Act Coalition. "The president's actions on pay equity yesterday were huge victories for federal contractors, so it's disappointing that Congress wouldn't extend these protections to all workers. As long as women workers continue to make less than men doing the same jobs, we will continue to fight for the Paycheck Fairness Act."
The president signed an executive order banning retaliation against employees of federal contractors for disclosing or inquiring about their wages. He also instructed the Department of Labor to establish new regulations requiring federal contractors to submit data on compensation paid to employees. This information will encourage voluntary compliance with equal pay laws and assist with more focused enforcement where possible discrimination exists with taxpayer funds.
The Paycheck Fairness Act would update the Equal Pay Act by barring retaliation against all other workers who ask about their employers' pay practices or inquire about their own wages. It would allow women to receive the same remedies for sex-based pay discrimination that are currently available to those subjected to discrimination based on race and ethnicity. The bill also would provide technical assistance to employers and includes safeguards for small businesses.
To learn more about the ACLU's work on the Paycheck Fairness Act, visit www.aclu.org/womens-rights/equal-pay-equal-work-pass-paycheck-fairness-...
To read the ACLU's statement on the President's equal pay executive actions, visit www.aclu.org/womens-rights/president-obama-take-major-executive-action-...
The American Civil Liberties Union was founded in 1920 and is our nation's guardian of liberty. The ACLU works in the courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to all people in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States.
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Biden Commutes 1,500 Sentences and Issues 39 Pardons—But Leaves 40 People on Death Row
"State-sanctioned murder is not justice, and President Biden has an opportunity and an obligation to save lives," Democratic Rep. Ayanna Pressley said earlier this week.
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U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday announced that he is commuting the sentences of nearly 1,500 Americans and pardoning 39 people convicted of nonviolent crimes, a move the White House described as "the largest single-day grant of clemency in modern history."
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According to a White House fact sheet, those who received commutations "have been serving their sentences at home for at least one year under the Covid-era CARES Act," a law that extended the amount of time in which people could be placed in home confinement to reduce the spread of the virus in prisons.
The White House did not name those who received pardons or commutations but said the list includes a "decorated military veteran," a "nurse who has led emergency response for several natural disasters," and "an addiction counselor who volunteers his time to help young people find their purpose."
The Biden Justice Department paused federal executions in 2021, but President-elect Donald Trump pledged on the campaign trail to expand the use of the death penalty and is expected to allow the executions of the 40 men on death row to take place if they're still there when he takes office next month.
In a statement on Thursday, Biden said that he has "the great privilege of extending mercy to people who have demonstrated remorse and rehabilitation, restoring opportunity for Americans to participate in daily life and contribute to their communities, and taking steps to remove sentencing disparities for non-violent offenders, especially those convicted of drug offenses."
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Biden, who campaigned on ending the death penalty at the federal level, vowed to "take more steps in the weeks ahead" as his administration reviews clemency petitions, leaving open the possibility of commutations for death row prisoners.
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