The vote was on a motion to invoke cloture, but it fell four votes shy of succeeding. John McCain did not show up to vote on this legislation.
Here is what Johnson had to say about the vote yesterday.
"The shortsighted and wrongheaded actions of Republicans in the U.S. Senate have made it even more vital to get a real Fair Pay Act passed in New York.
My legislation, (S.3936), would offer protections to employees and add some teeth to the federal Equal Pay Act, which in the more than 40 years since its passage has fallen short ensuring equal pay for equal work.
This bill has passed the New York State Assembly every year since 2002. Instead of committing to true change that would benefit thousands of working class families in New York, these Republicans' counterparts in the New York State Senate championed a cynical piece of legislation to "study" pay inequality, which has already been the subject of countless studies, and increase fines for laws that are nearly unenforceable.
New York residents deserve more than lip service.
I remain committed to fighting to make sure that New York joins the two dozen other states that have the Fair Pay Act on the books."
The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2007 would do the following: "A bill to amend title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990, and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to clarify that a discriminatory compensation decision or other practice that is unlawful under such Acts occurs each time compensation is paid pursuant to the discriminatory compensation decision or other practice, and for other purposes."
Here is video of Johnson arguing for the Fair Pay Act:
The federal version is named after Ledbetter, who sued Goodyear after realizing on the verge of retirement that she was not receiving the same pay raises as the men she worked with. The Supreme Court ruled against Ledbetter, arguing that employers are protected from such lawsuits if the discriminatory offense occurred 180 days or more prior to the lawsuit.
