by
Nancy Mion, ESVB Public Policy Director
New LAF Case – It is always exciting to learn about a new LAF case. The most recently adopted one reflects how the gender pay gap can impact on a woman’s life long earnings. The Legal Advocacy Fund provides individuals support as they fight for their rights. These are real people who need our financial and organizational help as their cases set precedents and draw attention to inequities.
You may want to share this case with your members. (You may receive info about this case from several other AAUW NYS sources too.) Here is a short summary you might want to use.
The most recent case adopted by the AAUW LAF is Rizo vs. Fresno County Office of Education. It vividly demonstrates the effect the gender pay gap has on women’s salaries. The plaintiff Aileen Rizo, a math consultant, learned that a male colleague, with less experience, was hired on the 9th of 10 steps, while she had been hired on the first step. When she filed a complaint she was told that starting salaries were based solely on the employee’s previous wages. Since women are generally paid les then men, this practice perpetuates the wage gap. Rizo eventually filed suit under the Equal Pay Act and California sex status discrimination statutes
Want to know more about this case? Check out http://aauw-nys.org/laf_casesupport.htm
The Deadline for National AAUW Receiving Your Branchs 2015 Contributions to LAF is December 31. Individual donors often give their donations in December. Please encourage your members to support LAF with their personal contributions to this important AAUW Program. Do ask them to give you the money now before the end of the year deadline.