U.S. Chamber Disappointed in House Passage of Flawed Labor Bills

Vows to Educate Senate on Legislations' Consequences and Defeat Both Measures

WASHINGTON, DC—The U.S. Chamber of Commerce expressed its extreme disappointment in today's House vote supporting the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and the Paycheck Fairness Act, and vowed to redouble its efforts to educate the Senate on these giveaways to the plaintiffs bar and to defeat legislation that will burden America's businesses with frivolous litigation during already trying economic times.

"It's a sad day when Congress is in such a hurry to please special interest groups that all voices cannot be heard on the Hill. Now is the time for lawmakers to consider the economic interests of the entire country, not just the financial interests of the trial bar," said Randel Johnson, the U.S. Chamber's vice president for Labor Policy. "While it's disappointing to see such flawed legislation race through the House without as much as a hearing, we're confident the Senate will recognize that these bills sweep much more broadly than their proponents contend and that this is nothing more than a giveaway to the trial bar."

The Chamber opposes the Ledbetter bill, which would amend Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and several other civil rights laws by effectively abolishing the statute of limitations for the vast majority of discrimination cases.

The Paycheck Fairness Act would, among other things, expand remedies under the Equal Pay Act (EPA) to include unlimited punitive and compensatory damages, significantly erode employer defenses for legitimate pay disparities, and impose invalid tools for enforcement by the Labor Department. The EPA does not provide for compensatory and punitive damages, nor should it.

"The Chamber strongly supports equal employment opportunity and effective mechanisms to achieve this important goal," he said. "However, further increasing the opportunity for frivolous litigation would only further serve to undermine America's civil rights laws."

The U.S. Chamber is the world's largest business federation representing more than 3 million businesses and organizations of every size, sector, and region.

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