THE HONORABLE
VICTORIA A. LIPNIC
ACTING CHAIR
U.S. EQUAL
EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION
CONTACT:
Kimberly
Smith-Brown
Christine Nazer
James Ryan
202-663-4191
newsroom@eeoc.gov
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 10,
2018
STATEMENT OF
THE HONORABLE
VICTORIA A. LIPNIC
ACTING CHAIR
U.S. EQUAL
EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION
EQUAL PAY DAY
APRIL 10, 2018
Today, April
10, we recognize Equal Pay Day -- the point of time in the calendar
year when, after adding up the wages of all working women, their median
wage equals that of the median wage of working men from the prior year. In
other words, only after working the first four months of the new year
do working women start to catch up. And
that is only If we separate out women of color -- their Equal Pay Day
is months even further into the year.
Equal Pay Day
was first started in 1996 by the National Committee on Pay Equity to
highlight the gap between men and women's wages. Long
before that, in 1963, the nation made it a matter of federal law that
there must be equal pay for equal work. Still,
fifty-five years later, we at the EEOC continue to see discriminatory
pay practices that disregard the concept of equal pay for equal work.
We don’t just
decry pay discrimination, we combat it over and over. Just
a few examples:
- A Texas
business that provides logistics, transportation and warehouse services
to manufacturers and retailers paid $45,000 to settle an EEOC lawsuit
after the Commission alleged that it paid a female director less than
three male directors. When her male counterparts were fired, she was
put back into the job but paid a lower annual salary. The woman
complained to her supervisors who refused to do anything about it.
- A Los Angeles
concrete liner company paid $105,000 to settle an EEOC lawsuit that
alleged that it paid a female sales representative less than a male
counterpart in the same job in base pay. The EEOC also contended that
the company required the female sales representative to sell more to
earn the same commission as her male colleague. After
the woman complained about the discrepancy, instead of rectifying
matters, the company assigned her a less lucrative sales territory,
increased her personal sales goal, and monitored her computer and cell
phone usage.
- A Virginia
janitorial services company paid more the $35,000 to settle an EEOC
lawsuit that charged that it paid a female porter a lower wage than her
male counterpart. The
suit further alleged that after the woman complained about the
discrepancy and asked that her wages be increased, the company
retaliated by assigning her more work, verbally harassing her, and
ultimately firing her.
I remain
committed to the EEOC’s push for equal pay and have worked to ensure
that our agency remains a leader in this area. Over
the past two years EEOC has worked diligently to enforce federal laws
prohibiting pay discrimination, resolving more than 5,000 charges
alleging pay discrimination on the basis of sex and recovering
approximately $40 million through the administrative process and
litigation. I
am immensely proud of the work we have done, and commend each and every
member of the EEOC’s staff who has contributed to these efforts. Yet
while we have made great strides, it is clear that there remains much
work to be done.
Best regards,
Victoria A.
Lipnic
Acting Chair
President
John F. Kennedy signs the Equal Pay Act in the Oval Office of the White
House, Washington, D.C., 1963.
Others
(L-R): Senator Wayne Morse (Oregon); Senator Winston L. Prouty
(Vermont); Representative Florence Price Dwyer (New Jersey); President
of the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW), Dorothy Height; former
Director of the Women's Bureau in the Department of Labor, Mary
Anderson; Assistant Secretary of Labor for Labor Standards, Esther
Peterson; Director of Research and Program Resources for the Young
Women's Christian Association (YWCA), Ethlyn Christensen;
Representative Carlton Sickles of Maryland (partially hidden behind Ms.
Christensen); President of the National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW),
Pearl Larner Willen; Representative Leonor K. Sullivan (Missouri);
Senator Maurine Neuberger of Oregon (partially hidden). Photo on
display in the EEOC Training Center.
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