Womensenews.org
Run Date: 01/25/08
By Allison Stevens
Washington Bureau Chief
Senators on Thursday vowed to push a bill that eases time pressures on wage-bias complaints. Ruth Bader Ginsburg urged the legislation last year after the high court ruled against Lilly Ledbetter.
WASHINGTON (WOMENSENEWS)--Senate Democrats vowed in a Senate hearing Thursday to take quick action on legislation that would reverse last year's Supreme Court decision making it more difficult for victims of wage discrimination to win lawsuits.
The Democrat-controlled House passed a similar version of the bill on July 30, with representatives voting largely along party lines.
If the bill clears Congress, it would go to President Bush, who issued a veto threat shortly before the House vote, saying it effectively eliminates time limitations on lawsuits.
"This is certainly not the first time we've pushed a piece of legislation with a veto threat," said Jocelyn Frye, a lawyer at the National Partnership for Women and Families, an advocacy group in Washington, D.C., that is a leading supporter of the bill. "As more people learn about the legislation and what it's designed to do, and when they understand the limited, modest nature of the legislation, then some of the opposition will fade."
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce opposes the measure but the U.S. Women's Chamber of Commerce, which is not affiliated with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, supports it. (Neither group is a government agency.)
Sen. Edward Kennedy, the Massachusetts Democrat who chairs the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, said the Senate would consider the bill after it addresses the looming recession with an economic stimulus package. Kennedy predicted a floor vote in the next two months, and said he has the backing of Democratic leaders.
"We're going to get action on it one way or another," he said after the committee held a hearing on the issue Thursday. "There's no reason we can't get to this very quickly."
http://www.womensenews.org/article.cfm/dyn/aid/3471
No comments:
Post a Comment