If you have not noticed, almost half of the topics I discuss on the blog come from Time Magazine. I found this article very interesting, I have summarized below:
I have no clue what my colleagues make. I suspect some earn more than I do and others take home less.
Lilly Ledbetter began working at Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. in 1979, In 1998 someone placed a memo in her mailbox that listed her base salary—about $44,000 a year—and that of three male colleagues of equal if not lesser tenure and title. They earned from $53,000 to $62,000.
Ledbetter sued her employer, and a federal jury awarded her $3.8 million in damages in 2003, later reduced to $300,000 by a judge, but Goodyear appealed all the way to the Supreme Court. The employer's case:
“While the Civil Rights Act forbade pay discrimination on the basis of race, gender or religion, the act held that employees must lodge a formal complaint within 180 days of the initial discriminatory paycheck. According to the law, Ledbetter needed to have sued within six months of her being hired—never mind that it took her, nearly 20 years to learn she earned less. "
What in the world is wrong with the Supreme Court? This may be one of the most illogical opinions since Plessy v. Ferguson.
Ledbetter's life since then has been a long campaign to change the law. The U.S. House approved a bill in 2007 that would hold employers accountable for the most recent discriminatory paycheck, not just the first one. But the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act failed to gain a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate. (Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama support the bill; John McCain is against it.)
I've got another idea. What if employers made all employee salaries known? If you think about it, who is served by all the secrecy? Not you. Transparency even benefits management, workers liked knowing where they stand. It takes away the mystery so they can focus on their work.
So show me your pay stub, and I'll show you mine.
I have no clue what my colleagues make. I suspect some earn more than I do and others take home less.
Lilly Ledbetter began working at Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. in 1979, In 1998 someone placed a memo in her mailbox that listed her base salary—about $44,000 a year—and that of three male colleagues of equal if not lesser tenure and title. They earned from $53,000 to $62,000.
Ledbetter sued her employer, and a federal jury awarded her $3.8 million in damages in 2003, later reduced to $300,000 by a judge, but Goodyear appealed all the way to the Supreme Court. The employer's case:
“While the Civil Rights Act forbade pay discrimination on the basis of race, gender or religion, the act held that employees must lodge a formal complaint within 180 days of the initial discriminatory paycheck. According to the law, Ledbetter needed to have sued within six months of her being hired—never mind that it took her, nearly 20 years to learn she earned less. "
What in the world is wrong with the Supreme Court? This may be one of the most illogical opinions since Plessy v. Ferguson.
Ledbetter's life since then has been a long campaign to change the law. The U.S. House approved a bill in 2007 that would hold employers accountable for the most recent discriminatory paycheck, not just the first one. But the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act failed to gain a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate. (Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama support the bill; John McCain is against it.)
I've got another idea. What if employers made all employee salaries known? If you think about it, who is served by all the secrecy? Not you. Transparency even benefits management, workers liked knowing where they stand. It takes away the mystery so they can focus on their work.
So show me your pay stub, and I'll show you mine.
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