Press Releases

Later today, the U.S. House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on a pair of bills that will dramatically increase the number and cost of pay discrimination lawsuits filed against American businesses, including small businesses. These bills—H.R. 11, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and H.R. 12, the Paycheck Fairness Act—together will make it easier for trial lawyers to bring costly lawsuits by eliminating the longstanding statute of limitations on pay discrimination claims; allowing for unlimited compensatory and punitive damages under Equal Pay Act claims; making it easier for lawyers to file class action suits; and making it harder for businesses to defend against this new wave of legal action.

In advance of today’s vote, Rep. Howard P. “Buck” McKeon (R-CA), the senior Republican on the House Education and Labor Committee, issued the following statement:

“Equal pay for equal work has been the law of the land for 46 years, and rightly so. Discrimination in the workplace of any type is wrong, and it must not be tolerated. But the legislation being hastily advanced by the Democratic Congress does not advance the cause of nondiscrimination; it merely advances the economic interests of trial lawyers looking to cash-in on this dismantling of longstanding civil rights law. Particularly in the face of today’s economic turmoil, we should not be handing out trial lawyer giveaways that will jeopardize job creation and retiree security.”

 To see the full text of Rep. McKeon’s remarks as prepared for delivery during today’s floor debate, please click here (for H.R. 11) and here (for H.R. 12).

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