February, 2000
On January 24, 2000, President Clinton unveiled a 27 million Equal Pay Initiative in his FY2001 budget and urged prompt passage of The Paycheck Fairness Act in order to combat unfair pay practices against women. The Initiative consists of $10 million for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to: (a) bolster the capacity of the EEOC to identify and respond to wage discrimination, (b) teach businesses how to meet legal requirements and (c) start an equal pay public service announcement campaign to inform employers and employees of their rights and responsibilities. Further, the Initiative dedicates $10 million for the Labor Department to train women in non-traditional occupations and provides $7 million for the Labor Department to assist employers in improving their pay policies, provide non-traditional apprenticeships and implement industry partnerships.
The Initiative includes $10 million for the EEOC to:
Provide, for the first time, training and technical assistance to about 3,000 employers on how to comply with equal pay requirements under the law;
Develop public service announcements to educate employees and employers on their rights and responsibilities under equal pay laws and
Train over 1,000 EEOC staff in identifying and responding to wage discrimination, the first such training since EEOC assumed responsibility for the Equal Pay Act in 1978.
The Initiative also provides $17 million for the Department of Labor to:
Train women in non-traditional jobs; for example, in the high technology industry;
Expand access to high quality employment related information and career guidance through the One-Stop Career Center delivery system;
Provide employers with the necessary assistance to assess and improve their pay policies and continue to educate the public on the importance of equal pay and
Strengthen industry partnerships to help women retain jobs and progress in the workforce.
NASW, with the Clinton Administration and other coalition members will urge Congress to pass The Paycheck Fairness Act (S.74/H.R.541) introduced by Senator Tom Daschle (D-SD) and Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT).
The Act will vigorously strengthen laws prohibiting wage discrimination. Principal components of this legislation include a new data collection provision, increased penalties under the Equal Pay Act, a non-retaliation provision and a provision for increased training, research as well as a pay equity award.
The Paycheck Fairness Act introduced in the Senate on January 19, 1999, (currently 26 co-sponsors) and in the House on February 3, 1999, (currently 122 co-sponsors) continues to remain a legislative priority for the social work profession. NASW, with the National Committee on Pay Equity, the Business and Professional Women’s Association in addition to other legislative task force members, developed lobbying strategy designed to induce passage of The Paycheck Fairness Act. We believe that these concerted efforts to expand social justice imminently require eternal vigilance by the widest possible coalition of Americans of conscience. To this end, the Association will target those congressional members who have not endorsed The Paycheck Fairness Act in order to attain our ultimate goal – legislative enactment.
For additional information, please contact Lawrence Moore, III, at 202-336-8289.