WASHINGTON, DC – During the final week of Women’s History Month and one week before Equal Pay Day, Congressman Donald Norcross (NJ-01) voted for the Paycheck Fairness Act, H.R. 7, which passed the U.S. House of Representatives 242-187. Norcross co-sponsored the bill, which expands upon the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009.

“For decades, I have seen how the women in my life have been impacted by workplace discrimination. Today, we took a much-needed step to help end pay inequality,” said Congressman Norcross. “On my way to vote, I was on the phone with my daughter, Corey, and I told her I was thinking of her, her mother, her late grandmother and everyone who so clearly deserves to be treated the same as their male counterparts.”

Recent, Related Actions

On March 4, 2019, Norcross received the 2019 Equality Award from the Alice Paul Institute for his work championing equality through equal access to high-quality education, job training and a living wage.

Norcross said: “It’s humbling to not only be recognized for my work advancing equality, but to be honored in Alice Paul’s name. She fought tooth and nail for women’s rights and I vow to continue the fight in her memory.”  

Norcross also introduced a House Resolution to have a portrait of New Jersey native and women’s rights leader Alice Paul hung in the U.S. Capitol building.

“It’s a rare honor to have a portrait hung in the Capitol but, currently, under 10% of the people receiving this honor are women. We can do better than that, and there’s no one who deserves this tribute more than New Jersey’s Alice Paul,” said Norcross. “From leading the National Women’s Party for over 50 years to authoring the Equal Rights Amendment, Alice Paul never stopped fighting for what’s right. Even when times were rough and she was arrested, she always stood by her convictions. As someone who grew up not far from her family’s home in South Jersey, I have always heard about and admired Alice Paul’s audacity. I hope my colleagues from around the country will soon be able to see our Jersey hero on a regular basis.”

“The Alice Paul Institute is in full support of Congressman Donald Norcross’ efforts to permanently memorialize Alice Paul in the United States Capitol building. Alice Paul’s deep belief in gender equality fueled her efforts to ensure that democracy in the United States was truly representational of the citizenry through the passage of the 19^th Amendment in 1920 which granted women the right to vote. We applaud Congressman Norcross’ commitment to rectifying the severe lack of public art that recognizes the important contributions of leading women in American history,” said Krista Niles, Marketing and Civic Engagement Coordinator at the Alice Paul Institute.

About the Paycheck Fairness Act

To close the wage gap and address loopholes and weak enforcement mechanisms in existing law, the Paycheck Fairness Act updates and strengthens the Equal Pay Act. Among its many provisions, the Paycheck Fairness Act:

• Requires employers to prove and justify that pay disparities are legitimate and are not sex-based;
• Bans retaliation against workers who voluntarily discuss or disclose their wages;
• Ensures women can receive the same robust remedies for sex-based pay discrimination that are currently available to those subjected to discrimination based on race and ethnicity;
• Provides assistance to all businesses to help them with their equal pay practices, recognizes excellence in pay practices by businesses and empowers women and girls by creating a negotiation skills training program; and
• Prohibits employers from relying on salary history in determining future pay, so that pay discrimination does not follow women from job to job.

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Contact: Ally Kehoe, Communications Director
ally.kehoe@mail.house.gov