To the editor:
The Jan. 11 Journal-World feature, “How your U.S. lawmakers voted” noted that two bills pertinent to women’s rights were passed by the House recently. One, HR 11, gives plaintiffs more time to file pay-bias lawsuits (within 180 days of the last infraction rather than 180 days from the first infraction) thus voiding the Supreme Court decision that denied a female supervisor, employed by Goodyear, her court claim for equal pay because she had discovered the inequity years after it had begun.
The second, HR 12, strengthens the federal law banning pay discrimination based on gender by empowering women alleging such bias to sue for recovery of back pay as well as punitive and compensatory damages. Such legislation appears long overdue.
Somewhat surprisingly, our new representative, Republican Lynn Jenkins, voted against both of these bills. Since these votes seem to indicate that she does not support a woman’s right to equal pay for equal work, perhaps she will agree to receive less salary than her male congressional counterparts. If so, this would not only make her actions consistent with her vote, but would also be somewhat helpful to taxpayers during the economic downturn we are all facing.
Robert A. Duver,
Lawrence
Comments
WilburM 8 years, 6 months ago
Right off the bat, two bad votes. These kinds of votes demonstrate why parties often do make a difference. Nancy Boyda almost certainly would have voted in favor of both -- which provide some basic, common sense rules and rights for challenging basic discrimination. If Rep. Jenkins continues to vote simply in opposition to the Democratic agenda -- as opposed to assessing issues on their own merit -- she will become a vulnerable target in 2010. Thanks for noting these votes, and we should continue to pay attention.
CLARKKENT 8 years, 6 months ago
MR. DUVER--NICE LETTER.JUST THE BEGINNING OF BAD DECISIONS BY JENKINS. SHE WAS A VERY POOR CHOICE!!!!!!
Leslie Swearingen 8 years, 6 months ago
This seems like such a simple matter to decide, not like some others. Just get the company records, look at how much the men were paid for a certain job and how much the women were paid. Pretty cut and dried it seems to me.In an era where people are comfortable talking about their sex lives on television they should not be uncomfortable having a wage chart memoed to all the workers. Given what happened to Wall Street, we need more transparency in the business dealings on Main Street.
rtwngr 8 years, 6 months ago
Has anyone asked Rep. Jenkins why she voted against these bills? Could it be that these bills came to the floor for a vote with earmarks (see pork) attached to them? It's easy to criticize when you don't have all of the facts. In a time when government is out of control with spending maybe Rep. Jenkins is trying to hold the line on passing out the taxpayer's dollars. Heaven forbid we stop spending money like we have it. I am quite sure if there were Democrat earmarks in the bill then Nancy Boyda would have voted for them without hesitation.
1029 8 years, 6 months ago
Excellent letter. Hopefully the idiots who voted for Jenkins will remember these votes in November 2010. People in her district--particularly women--should write her and ask for an explanation for why she voted the way she did. Google it. You can read the text of the bill and also the various republican propaganda about how this would create an undue burden on those poor corporations because all those stupid women who worked for a company decades ago will be filing suit against their former employers (conveniently failing to make any mention of the 180 day limitation). Republicans have never been the party that cared about people--especially women. The white c
Chris Ogle 8 years, 6 months ago
Pay equity my butt, I would just like a job.
1029 8 years, 6 months ago
continued...(hit submit accidentally)This goes along with the fundamental GOP idea that it is best for social control if power is consolidated in the hands of a few. Let the white christian male run his business with minimal oversight and few regulations and allow him to pay his employees as little as possible. Keep the people poor, obedient, and uninformed. It is the safe thing to do in this scary modern world of terror.
paavopetie 8 years, 6 months ago
"Keep the people poor, obedient, and uninformed. It is the safe thing to do in this scary modern world of terror."That is why college tuition has almost doubled while under the Bush Administration (and 6 years of a Republican controlled Congress).
Leslie Swearingen 8 years, 6 months ago
paavopetie, Sunflower offers free Internet to those who qualify by having Medicaid, Social Security, and several other things. It is a simple form to fill out. You only have to pay five dollars a month for the modem. They are doing it to enable these people to have access to knowledge and also to fill out forms online.I use my Internet to read the news in papers all over the world and I also do a lot of research. I am reading the Aubrey/Maturin series which is set in the 1800's and is faithful to the language of the time and being set on fighting ships of that era has a lot of terms I was not familiar with so I had to look it all up. Including the anatomy of the tall ships.
verity 8 years, 6 months ago
A lot of companies will fire you if you tell a fellow employee what your salary is. I got in trouble once because I was accused of doing so even though I hadn't. So how is one to know if there is pay equity? If I recall correctly, the woman who was involved in the court case did not know for years that she was being paid less.
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