Yesterday, I was forwarded an e-mail from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce warning me that trial attorneys are heading to Washington looking for a handout. I wondered what the Chamber thought about the real Bailout, the one that a lot of its member banks and financial institutions have been wallowing in. What does the Chamber propose be done about the rogue fat cats who got rich while their companies drowned in red ink? What strings should be attached to the bailout money? Of course, they don’t address those issues. They do propose more tort reform as a cure all for business ills. As for the economic crisis – the Chamber says to cut business income taxes.
What exactly is this “handout” they are talking about? Are trial attorneys actually seeking to get bailout checks? OF COURSE NOT – they are urging the passage of the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, passed by the Senate on Thursday. They want to make sure that women get a fair chance to bring equal pay claims when they are paid less than a similarly situated male employee. The Chamber’s spin is shameless hypocrisy. I wonder how the executives at the Chamber would explain this Act to their mothers, daughters, aunts and grandmothers? I will bet that they won’t tell them that the free flow of business is more important than stopping pay discrimination against women. And if they will, heaven help them … Please – CoC – weigh in. Tell us why this is a trial attorney’s handout. Explain why a company should get away with paying women less.
