Last week, the Washington Times reported, The House will likely vote this week on two pay-discrimination bills that were passed by the last Congress but stopped in the Senate by Republican-led filibusters. The first measure, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, would overturn a May 2007 Supreme Court decision that made it more difficult for employees to challenge pay discrimination in the workplace....The Paycheck Fairness Act would allow women to sue employers for possible compensatory and punitive damages. Businesses object that these damages would be awarded even in cases where no intentional discrimination is demonstrated.


The bills passed. The Foundation for Economic Education responded by reprinting an essay of mine from 1990 on comparable worth -- which is a more accurate description of the goal envisioned by the two Acts. Since the essay deals with the principles, it remains timely.

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