This afternoon, Congresswoman Annie Kuster (NH-02) visited the White House to celebrate Equal Pay Day and hear President Obama give two executive orders that will help support fair pay for women and narrow the wage gap between genders. Earlier this year, Kuster sent a letter to President Obama encouraging him to issue the two orders announced today.

During today’s Equal Pay Day celebration at the White House, the President announced the new executive orders which Kuster had encouraged him to support in her letter. The first order will prohibit federal contractors from retaliating against employees who choose to discuss their compensation, so employees have a potential avenue to discover violations of equal pay and seek appropriate action. The second order will instruct the Secretary of Labor to establish new regulations requiring federal contractors to submit to the Department of Labor data on compensation paid to their employees, including by sex and race. This will allow more targeted enforcement of equal pay laws.

“I was so pleased the President took my letter into consideration and announced these executive orders, which will help prevent pay discrimination against women,” said Congresswoman Annie Kuster, who is a cosponsor of the federal Paycheck Fairness Act, which would increase the effectiveness of remedies available to victims of pay discrimination on the basis of gender. “It is outrageous that even in the 21^st Century, women in New Hampshire and across the nation continue to make only 77 cents to the dollars of their male counterparts. We must do more to eliminate the wage gap between genders, and this is a great step forward in the right direction. Furthermore, I urge my colleagues in the House to swiftly pass my Paycheck Fairness Act, which would provide women with necessary avenues to report and remedy instances of pay discrimination.”

During today’s White House Equal Pay Day celebration, Kuster was joined by Lily Ledbetter, a lead advocate for women’s equal rights who served as a role model for women across the nation when she sued her company for pay discrimination on the basis of gender. Ledbetter inspired legislation supporting equal pay in 2009, the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.

As a member of the House Small Business Committee, Kuster has worked to level the playing field and create equal opportunities for female professionals and women-owned businesses. In addition to being a cosponsor of the Paycheck Fairness Act, she has joined her colleagues on the bipartisan Congressional Women’s Caucus in urging the U.S. Small Business Administration to work more aggressively to expand federal contracting opportunity for women-run firms. Kuster has also hosted a series of roundtable discussions with women business leaders from New Hampshire to hear directly from them about what she can do on the federal level to continue to help New Hampshire women succeed in the workplace.

###