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May 24, 2012 the Honorable Harry Reid the Honorable Mitch

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May 24, 2012 the Honorable Harry Reid the Honorable Mitch May 24, 2012 The Honorable Harry Reid The Honorable Mitch McConnell Majority Leader Minority Leader United States Senate United States Senate Washington, D.C. 20510 Washington, D.C. 20510 Dear Leaders Reid and McConnell: The undersigned urge you and your colleagues to VOTE NO on cloture on the motion to proceed to the Paycheck Fairness Act (S. 3220). The vote is currently scheduled for June 5. Our organizations represent millions of employers who are committed to ensuring equal employment opportunities for men and women alike. While we have no tolerance for unlawful discrimination, we vigorously oppose S. 3220. The Paycheck Fairness Act would impose unprecedented government control over how employees are paid at even the nation’s smallest employers. This flawed legislation could outlaw many legitimate practices that employers currently use to set employee pay rates, even where there is no evidence of intentional discrimination. Common practices that a court could find unlawful under S. 3220 include providing premium pay for professional experience, education, shift differentials or hazardous work, as well as pay differentials based on local labor market rates or an organization’s profitability. This level of government intervention in employee compensation is both unprecedented and unwarranted in the United States. The provisions of the Paycheck Fairness Act would harm employers of all sizes, as the bill would apply to employers with as few as two employees. The threat the bill poses to small business is particularly troubling given the draconian penalties found in this legislation, which include unlimited damages regardless of whether a pay discrepancy was unintentional. A number of federal laws already specifically protect employees from pay discrimination, including the Equal Pay Act, the Civil Rights Act and the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. These laws prohibit pay disparities based on gender and provide robust remedies and damages to victims of pay discrimination. As The Washington Post editorial board stated in 2009, adding the Paycheck Fairness Act to these existing laws “risks tilting the scales too far against employers and would remove, rather than restore, a sense of balance.” In 2010, the Boston Globe wrote “the measure as a whole is too broad” and the Chicago Tribune described the bill as “grossly intrusive.” Once again, we urge all senators to oppose the Paycheck Fairness Act. Sincerely, American Bakers Association National Council of Textile Organizations American Bankers Association National Federation of Independent Business American Hotel & Lodging Association National Public Employer Labor Relations Associated Builders & Contractors, Inc. Association College and University Professional Association for National Restaurant Association Human Resources National Retail Federation Food Marketing Institute National Roofing Contractors Association HR Policy Association Printing Industries of America International Public Management Association for Retail Industry Leaders Association Human Resources Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council National Association of Manufacturers Society for Human Resource Management National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors U.S. Chamber of Commerce National Council of Chain Restaurants CC: Members of the United States Senate .
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