Fischer's Equal Pay and Paid Family Leave Motions Advance to Conference

Press Release

This evening, U.S. Senator Deb Fischer's (R-Neb.) motion to instruct budget conferees on her equal pay proposal was approved 57 to 40 by the United States Senate. Fischer's motion was supported by all Republican senators voting, as well as Senators Angus King (I-Maine), Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.).

The Senate also unanimously approved a motion offered by Senator Fischer and Senator Angus King that would update federal laws regarding paid family and medical leave. Both motions will now move on to the joint conference committee, which is tasked with coming to an agreement on a final budget for fiscal year 2016. Senator Fischer released the following statement this evening:

"I am pleased that my equal pay motion has passed once again, further reaffirming our commitment to the principle of equal pay for equal work. Anyone -- including President Obama -- who is seriously interested in making progress on this issue for women and moving past electioneering and scoring political points should step up and support my proposal. For the first time in over half a century, we have the opportunity to update the Equal Pay Act with a bill that actually provides needed changes and can realistically pass.

"I was also happy to see a bipartisan motion I introduced with Senator King pass unanimously this evening. Our proposal in the form of a motion, would encourage employers to voluntarily provide working families with more flexibility for paid time off to meet their needs.

"Our plan provides a balanced measure that respects employers' costs of doing business with employee needs. It also creates a meaningful incentive structure to incentivize employers to provide working families, including hourly workers, the chance to take paid time off."

Senator Fischer's motion includes the same language as her bill, S. 875 -- The Workplace Advancement Act, which she introduced last month. The motion also includes provisions to prevent retaliation against employees who inquire about, or discuss, their salaries, while also reinforcing current law banning gender discrimination under both the Equal Pay Act and Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. A similar proposal was adopted to the budget in the form of an amendment two weeks ago.

Last year, Senator Fischer and Senator Angus King (I-Maine) introduced The Strong Families Act, legislation to incentivize employers to voluntarily provide employees with paid parental or medical leave. The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) of 1993 requires employers of 50 or more employees to provide up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave, which can be used for events like the birth or adoption of children, serious medical issues, or providing care to close family members. The challenge for many working families, particularly hourly workers living paycheck-to-paycheck, is that current law does not involve paid time off.

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