Wonder how long til men have a 50-50 shot at getting custody of kids, or, that they have a say in murdering, or keeping a baby if a couple conceive a child, or, maybe even if they have a say in not paying child support if a she wants to keep baby, and he doesnt.

Equal rights sound great to me.

Unfortunately this bill could greatly reduce the ability of employers to negotiate salaries with their employees.

I think most of us would agree that everyone doing the same kind of work should be offered the same base pay. That is especially true for hourly employees. But beyond that, negotiations play a large role in determining the pay level of salaried employees.

If this bill results in enough lawsuits, employers may be forced to offer everyone an equal, "average" salary rather than negotiate or give employees raises based on merit or positive work evaluations.

The end result is lower wages for everyone.

Equal, yes, but progress?

And of course, for some employers at least, they are more inclined to allow men higher salaries then women. Using "he's a better negotiator" as a reason is not a good reason, is it?

Equal pay for equal work does not preclude pay for performance. But it does level the playing field, and it might indeed eliminate those instances where an employer gives a man a higher salary than a woman simply because, in the view of the employer, the man is a better 'negotiator.'

Under the equity provisions that I imagine are included in these laws the employer would now be compelled to show why the man's pay should be higher than the woman's.

"He's a better negotiator than she is" will likely fail a legal test - as it should in my view.

i'm always suspicious when the government wants to start telling companies how much they should pay their employees.

do you have links to the bills by chance, lee?

the one about changing the amount of time you have to file a EEOC complaint may be reasonable depending on what they want to extend it out to. I would agree that 120 days is too short. does the bill do anything else, tho?

as far as the equal pay for equal work? isn't that already the law? otherwise there wouldn't be be the question of how long you have to file suit. what exactly are they adding? given the democrats tendancies to expand government power and influence, i would look at it with a jaundiced eye until i knew the specifics.

i have a somewhat off topic question for you, lee. when you talk about equality are you talking about equality of opportunity or equality of outcome?

I wonder if the Messiah-Elect will start paying his female staffers equal pay, the way John McCain has.

Using "he's a better negotiator" as a reason is not a good reason, is it?

Among the other numerous problems already mentioned, is that problem of who decides what is "equal work". I am sure our federal government, which has recently demonstrated its incomparable abilities to manage economic affairs, will do a wonderful, objective job on that.

I can't resist commenting: GianiD, oh precious one, when a man has unprotected sex, he is essentially saying, "Let the chips fall where they may," which is also known as Lazai Faire. And, hey-hey-by-the-way, when a man is able to become pregnant, he may then decide whether to continue or terminate the pregnancy. Coming to an agreement with a woman to have a family, which may, silly romantic that I am, include marriage, but may also be comprised of a legal contract, none of which would be considered valid if one of the parties were under duress, would be considerations.

LOL! That whole "protection" thing should work both ways, don't you think Jillel? If you're a woman, you can use contraceptives and pills. But it's the man's responsibility, is that your argument Jillel? I mean, if she doesn't, isn't that as equally "Lazai Faire" of her? Unfortunately in today's "equal" society, if you have the dangling items between your legs, your rights are not equal. Oh, and if there is a question and answer period prior to the coitus, and the party of the other part, being of female persuasion, lies about the use of contraception and then becomes pregnant, has she violated a verbal contract and is therefore libel for her actions? NO, you the party of the dangling part are still on the hook.

You only want equality on your terms and they aren't necessarily equal. But what the hell, it pay back time for thousands of years of abuse, right?

That's why I tell my sons to use a condom every time and keep a small bottle of tabasco handy. A few drops to the used condom prior to disposal in the waste basket is always good insurance. It's amazing what some women will do to hook a man.