CLEVELAND, Ohio -- By blocking legislation to close the wage gap for women, Republicans have widened the gap between the GOP and women voters.
Wednesday, Democrats fell short of the 60 votes needed to prevent a filibuster and pass the Paycheck Fairness Act. The Act makes it illegal for employers to penalize employees who discuss their salaries in the course of a formal investigation or in water cooler conversations. It also requires the Equal Opportunity Commission to collect pay information from employers to track whether the Equal Pay Act of 1963 is actually being complied with. On Equal Pay Day, President Obama signed an Executive Order and memorandum, applying the same PFA regulations to all federal employees and contractors.
Republicans argue existing anti-discrimination laws make the new legislation redundant, and that it will lead to an increase in lawsuits. That's likely to be true if the transparency the PFA imposes reveals employers have been engaged in pay discrimination despite the Equal Pay Act of 1963. The 1963 law did not stop Lilly Ledbetter from being discriminated against. But the Ledbetter Fair Pay act and the PFA will help make sure no other woman will be a victim of pay discrimination.
Despite the RNC's 2012 election autopsy report, that called for an image makeover, Republicans haven't fixed their tin ear when it comes to women's issues. They've been so obsessed with Obamacare, even linking it to the fair pay issue, they seem to have forgotten Hillary Clinton's likely to seek to become the first woman President of the United States in 2016. It's past time for the GOP to 'spring forward' to 2014 AD from 14 BC.