Statement of Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner Executive Director, MomsRising on President Obama’s Signing of Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act

Statement Of Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner
MomsRising.org Executive Director
On President Obama’s Signing of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act

CONTACT: Gretchen Wright, 202/371-1999

It was with great pride and great joy that I attended today’s Presidential signing ceremony of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. As someone once said famously, “it’s been a long time coming,” but now federal law ensures that employees are able to seek redress if they learn that they have been discriminated against in pay because of their gender, race or ethnicity.

Many years ago, Lilly Ledbetter bravely stood up to a major corporation and fought for the rights of workers all across this country to fight pay discrimination. And today, by making this the very first bill he signed into law, President Barack Obama showed us that he is acting on the promises he made in his campaign. This law is a signal to people all across this country that pay discrimination will not be tolerated and now employees have the right and the ability to fight it.

MomsRising.org’s members worked hard to help pass this legislation. They signed petitions, sent letters and even met with U.S. Senators’ offices to urge passage of the bill. Today, we are proud to see our efforts rewarded and we recommit to fighting for the range of family-friendly policies this country needs.

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MomsRising.org is an online grassroots organization that is working for paid family leave, flexible work options, excellent childcare and health care for all children, and to stop the wage and hiring biases that penalize so many mothers today. MomsRising.org has more than 150,000 members across the United States.