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Page A4
September 12, 2007
O pinion
Opinion articles do not
necessarily reflect or represent the
views o f The Portland Observer
Families Deprived
by Low Wages
Living wage law
and other
solutions
needed
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Ticking Clock on Pay Discrimination
Congress must
close loophole
by
B arbara A rnwine
Look around your of­
fice. Do you know what
your co-workers are re­
ally being paid'.’ Probably
not. A recent survey
found that only 10 per­
cent of companies have
pay openness policies.
And if you were paid less by
your employer simply because you
are female how long do you think it
would take to find out? Probably
not until you've been working
there a long time, maybe years.
That is exactly what happened
to Lilly Ledbetter. Her employer,
Goodyear, kept compensation in­
formation confidential and it wasn’t
until decades after the fact she
found out that she was being paid
less. By the time of her retirement,
she was paid $3,727 monthly, while
the lowest paid male doing the same
job was paid $4,286.
Taking her employer to court, a
jury found that she received raises
less frequently than her male col­
leagues because of her gender. The
jury awarded her damages for this
intentional discrimination, but on
appeal to the Supreme Court, a
majority tossed out the award be­
cause Ms. Ledbetter failed to file
her claim within 180 days of her
em ployer's discriminatory deci­
sions - decisions she didn’t have
reason to suspect until long after
they were made.
common sense idea means that if
Pay discrimination based on pay her less money.
The pattern in the Ledbettercase the employee files within 1 SOdays
gender is a violation of federal law
and victims of such discrimination is not unusual. In a 2002 case, an­ of receiving the discriminatory
should be able to recover lost wages other employee didn’t find out pay, he or she can have their day
and perhaps other dam­ about her employer’s compensa­ in court.
Some argue that the clock
ages as well. But the Su­ tion policies until aprintout of sala­
preme Court has now ries appeared on her desk seven should start when a reasonable
made it practically impos­ years after her starting salary was person would have discovered
sible for victims to recoup set lower than co-workers. Ina 1998 the wrong, but this vague stan­
damages when they have case, the employee found out about dard is very difficult to apply in a
been
d isc rim in a te d salary disparities when she read compensation setting. In particu­
about them in the newspaper.
lar, employees may learn about
against.
pay differences but might not
have enough information to sus­
pect discrimination until much
later. If sacrueljokeon the victim
if their clock runs out before they
even know it started.
Rather than opening the door
to such tim e-consum ing dis­
putes, a better approach would
be to change thelaw back to the
definition that worked for de­
cades and that has proven to be
workable for both em ployers
In order to encourage victims of
Unlike discriminatory decisions and em ployees. As it stands
discrimination to file their claims to hire and fire, compensation deci­ right now the Suprem e Court
promptly, the law requires that they sions are typically confidential. has practically given em ploy­
file within 180 days of the discrimi­ Consequently, it makes more sense ers a loophole to discrim inate,
natory practice. So far, so good. to start the clock each time the as long as they aren’t found out
But the Supreme Court’s decision employer makes a discriminatory in 180 days.
in Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire, in­ payment rather than when the deci­
Congress has a lot of difficult
terpreted the law to mean that the sion to discriminate is made.
issues to deal with - Iraq, immi­
180-day clock starts when the em ­
Ledbetter was a 5-4 decision in gration, the deficit, on and on.
ployer makes the discriminatory which the conservative majority But some problems are easy to
decision, not each time the em ­ rejected the consistent position solve if the political will to stand
ployee receives a smaller paycheck. held by most of the lower courts for up to the White House and the
So, if the employee didn’t learn years. Over 20 years ago, in a race business community is there. This
about her employer’s decision to discrimination case, the court ob­ is one of them.
pay her less when the decision was served that “each week’s paycheck
Barbara Arnwine is the ex­
made, her claim of discrimination that delivers less to a black than to ecutive directorfor the Lawyers’
will probably be too late, even a similarly situated white is a wrong Committee fo r Civil Rights Un­
though the employer continues to actionable under Title VII." This der Law.
The Supreme Court has now
made it practically impossible
fo r victims to recoup damages
when they have been
discriminated against.
Despite the long hours many of
these workers put in, countless
numbers of them are unable to
keep themselves - and their fami­
lies - afloat financially.
A single-parent with three
children earning the national
minimum wage -currently $5.85
by J t ik ; e G reg M atiiis
an hour - will bring home
More than 9 million American $ 12,168 a year. This number falls far
families are considered low-wage short of the federal poverty level
families, or working poor.
for a family of four - $20,650.
These families, more often than
Because the family won’t have
not, look like a typical American enough money to meet basic needs,
family: Two parents living at home Medicaid, subsidized housing and
who are U.S. citizens with at least a free school lunch programs help fill
high school diploma. They struggle the void, increasing the burden on
to raise a healthy family and to keep tax payers. Increasing the minimum
their children safe. Yet, their in­ wage to a living wage would force
come often falls far short of the employers to shoulder more of the
fam ily’s needs.
responsibility for their employee’s
If a child gets sick, the resulting basic needs, lowering costs for the
medical bill could put a serious fi­ states and, ultimately, the taxpayer.
If America continues to ignore
the plight o f the working poor,
the gap between the poor and
the rich will continue to widen.
nancial burden on the family. The
cost of quality childcare has to be
measured against the need to pay
utility bills. Too many American
families - a large percentage of them
African-American - are forced to
make these tough decisions day in
and day out. They shouldn’t have
to.
Policy changes and increased
supports can ensure that all of
America’s workers have the re­
sources they need.
According to a study released
by the Center for Labor Research
and Education at the University of
California at Berkeley, more than
half of black workers in this country
hold down jobs that don’t pay a
living wage or provide healthcare
or retirement benefits. These jobs
are usually in the retail, healthcare
or social assistance industries and
often don't offer any room for ad­
vancement - employees are stuck
in the low-paying jobs into which
they are initially hired.
Besides establishing a living
wage law, there are other things the
government can do to ease the
burden on the working poor. Creat­
ing job programs that provide tax
credits to employers who train and
promote low-wage workers into
hirer paying jobs is a start. Allow­
ing employees to unionize and fight
for their fair share of the pie is
another.
There are no easy solutions to
this issue. But solutions have to be
created.
If America continues to ignore
the plight of the working poor, the
gap between the poor and the rich
will continue to widen. And the
social ills that result from poverty-
crime, homelessness, etc. - will only
increase. And society at large will
have to foot the bill.
Judge Greg Mathis is national
vice president o f Rainbow PUSH
and a national board member o f
the Southern Christian Leadership
Conference.
Police Shooting Needs Review
Editor's note: The following is
an open letter to the Multnomah
County District Attorney asking
fo r a criminal investigation in a
police officer's conduct in shoot­
ing a suspect in a domestic vio­
lence call:
District Attorney Schrunk and
Deputy D.A. Anderson:
We urge you to convene a grand
jury hearing in the police shooting
of Leslie Stewart.
You told the Oregonian that your
office general ly does not hold grand
jury hearings in officer shootings if
"no one was injured." Mr. Stewart
was injured, however minor it may
be, either directly or indirectly by
the bullet.
R egardless, the O regon State
Statute governing police use of
deadly force requires that offic­
ers reasonably believe that there
is an imminent threat to them or to
another person. It does not re­
quire that the officer’s use of
deadly force result in an injury or
death.
Therefore, if Officer Stephanie
Rabey's shot through a window at
Mr. Stewart was not justifiable un­
der the statute, a crime has been
committed.
Because o f the Oregon A ttor­
ney G eneral's plan for county re­
sponse procedures to be devel­
oped for police shootings and
deaths, we hope that your office
will make acom m itm ent to inves­
tigate and hold a grand jury hear­
ing on every case where officers
discharge w eapons toward other
human beings in the line o f duty.
Please reconsider this decision,
as it is crucial for the public to
believe that our officers are being
held to the strictest standards as
they are given the power of life and
death over the community.
Dan H andelm an, P ortland
Copwatch and Alejandro (Jueral,
NW Constitutional Rights Center
Proud to see Boston Run
Thank you for your recent pro­
file of Cyreena Boston (Aug. 22
issue) who is running for House
District 45. Cyreena's experience,
energy, voice and vision would suit
her and her Portland constituents
well.
The chai lenges we face are more
complex than ever, and thus require
someone who is intelligent and in­
dependent-minded, bu, who also
exercises acollaborative leadership
style. Cyreena Boston is all of this
1
and more.
H er com m itm ent to strong
sc h o o ls, a ffo rd a b le h o u sin g ,
healthcare for all, and efficient and
effective transportation systems is
laudable.
As an African-American, I am
genuinely proud to see Miss Bos­
ton, an experienced and young Afri­
can-American woman, reach to as­
sume the mantle of public service.
John Branam
Northeast Portland