skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Equal Pay Icon, Labor Leaders Warn of Election Consequences

play audio
Play

Tuesday, August 23, 2016   

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Do your homework before the election or pay the price, potentially with your job. That's the message one of the key figures in the fight for workplace quality has for Florida women.

After discovering she earned less than her male colleagues at the Goodyear tire plant, Lilly Ledbetter took her fight for equal pay all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Now, with the election looming and an open seat on the high court, she's urging Florida women to think long and hard about which presidential candidate is most likely to advance the cause.

"We are still so far, far behind," she said. "Women still do not get the benefits and the rights that they are entitled to. It is one of the most unbelievable situations in this country."

While Ledbetter lost her case in a 2007 split decision, Congress eventually did pass the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which was the first act signed into law by President Obama in 2009. Hillary Clinton was a sponsor of that legislation, while Republican vice presidential nominee Mike Pence voted against it.

Ivanka Trump said during the Republican Convention that her father would likely look at the pay-bias issue. Donald Trump however, has said he'd expect his daughter to leave her job if she were being discriminated against.

Theresa King is the president of the Florida Building Trades, and said that simply isn't an option for most working women.

"To suggest that if I was sexually harassed on a job site, that I am the one who should change careers is an absolute insult to not only me but to every woman that works daily to have their own American dream," she said.

King said she and other members of the Florida AFL-CIO will spend the next few months going door-to-door and trying to educate Florida voters about the importance of women's issues in this election.

Ledbetter said her landmark case may have turned out very differently if a different set of judges sat on the bench. Two of the Supreme Court justices who sided with Ledbetter have since retired, and one who voted against her has died. With one high court vacancy in play, she said it's a reminder that the decisions the next president makes will outlive him or her.

"It could determine our lives for generations to come," she added. "And this year is no less. It is the most critical year of my life."

President Obama and congressional Democrats have tried to pass separate legislation to make it easier for workers to sue for wage discrimination, but that has been blocked by Republicans who argue it would be a boon for trial lawyers that won't help close the pay gap.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
A report from the Tennessee HealthCare Campaign recommended the federal government needs to strengthen 340B drug pricing and other federal negotiation mechanisms to make needed medicines more readily available and less expensive for hospitals to purchase and administer. (Spotmatikphoto/AdobeStock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …


Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…


Nearly 13 million Americans receive health coverage through unique plans under both Medicare and Medicaid. They are known as Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plans. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

Social Issues

play sound

A 2023 study from the University of Nebraska Medical Center concluded the number of Nebraskans with a mental health or substance abuse disorder has pr…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021