pay ruling

i get this financial newsletter from CNN/Fortune a few times per week, and one of them this week addressed the recent ruling by the supreme court that you only have 6 months to file a pay discrimination suit. the article below pretty much sums up exactly what i had thought when i heard that ruling. i think a lot of people don't know how much their coworkers make, and it would most likely take more than six months to get a reasonable grasp on that information. i know at my company, it's very difficult to even obtain pay grade information, let alone specifics regarding how much peers make. with the research showing that women make less on average than a man performing the same job functions (with equivalent experience, etc), i'm very cognizant of the fact that i may be paid less than a man due simply to my gender, but it would be very difficult for me to confirm/prove it. no fair! the point on how the initial lower starting pay (or smaller subsequent raises) snowballs in impact due to raises, bonuses, etc being based on a percentage of salary is another excellent point. it's long but worth reading.

Pay ruling ignores the real world

Most employees would have trouble telling - let alone proving - they're not being fairly compensated. So why did the Supreme Court decide to give them only six months to file a pay discrimination complaint?

By Anne Fisher, Fortune senior writer

(Fortune) -- How long have you been in your current job? Six months? Less than six months? How about six years, or 16? It hardly matters: In any case, you probably have only the foggiest notion (if any) of what your colleagues earn, or how big their last raise was.

If you're a woman, it's unlikely you know for sure whether your pay is commensurate with male peers in the same job. Employers encourage a "don't ask, don't tell" approach to the subject that usually prevents people from guessing - let alone being able to prove with hard evidence - if they're being fairly compensated. And new employees in particular are often so relieved to have been hired that they're the last ones who are going to ask awkward questions.

So how much sense does it make to decide, as the U.S. Supreme Court did Tuesday in a 5-4 ruling, that employees who want to take legal action against a discriminatory employer must file a formal complaint with a federal agency within 180 days of that employer's explicit offense (i.e. either hiring a woman for less pay than a man or giving her a smaller raise because she's female)? In too many instances, it takes far longer than that for an employee to realize what's going on.

That was what happened to Lilly Ledbetter, on whose case the highest U.S. court ruled yesterday. Ledbetter was a supervisor at a Goodyear Tire plant in Gadsden, Ala., and the only woman among 17 managers at the same level. Although she was hired at the same pay as her peers, she received smaller raises than theirs over a 20-year period. By the time she realized it, in 1998, her salary fell short of male supervisors' by 40%. She was earning $3,727 a month, while the lowest-paid man in her position made $4,286.

Under the Supreme Court's new ruling, systematically paying someone less on the basis of sex would be perfectly fine under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 - as long as she doesn't figure it out within six months. After that, she can't sue on that basis. (Although she might be able to file under the Equal Pay Act, which doesn't have the 180-day deadline, that law has other requirements and doesn't allow punitive damages.) This is just dandy for employers who make a habit of paying women less than men in the same job, but it's an interpretation that surely undermines the spirit of Title VII if not its letter.

Worse, it ignores workplace reality. The majority opinion "overlooks common characteristics of pay discrimination," Ruth Bader Ginsberg - the court's only woman - wrote in her dissent, which she read from the bench. A single pay raise that is smaller than colleagues get, even if a woman knows it's smaller, may not seem worth "making waves" over, particularly if the woman - or, for that matter, member of a racial minority - is "trying to succeed in a nontraditional environment."

But, Justice Ginsberg noted, over the course of a whole career, even a small disparity in pay "will expand exponentially...if raises are set as a percent of prior pay." That robs women, or anyone else who is systematically and deliberately paid less for the same work, not just of many thousands of dollars in direct earnings, but of benefits like pensions that are linked to pay as well.

In her opinion, Ginsberg called on Congress to step up and overturn the Supreme Court's decision, as it did in the early '90s with a series of the court's rulings on civil rights. Hillary Clinton, perhaps hoping to win women voters' support, has said she'll lead the fight. Here's hoping that's more than just a campaign promise.

the early bird

...gets the good parking spot. got to work super early this morning (6:30) since i have to leave early for an appointment and didn't want to use up any of my "personal time" or vacation hours. looking at the time as i left my apartment this morning made me think about how early this is and how i used to not be able to fathom rising so early and getting the day started. but, apparently getting the day started consists of blogging about it. hah!

overwhelmy

ever have an evening where you have so much to do that you don't even know where to begin? time to make a list:

1. pick up my bedroom after the unpacking tornado came through
2. organize my paperwork and books and stuff like that in the living/dining area
3. put away the multitude of duffle bags, suitcases, etc that have managed to come out and not go away
4. put away clean dishes
5. do some research for tomorrow
6. start packing for the weekend, since i'll be away from home again until monday evening
7. do a happy dance because the riot is starting tonight at short
8. make sure my last few adjustments are right on my bike and tighten it down
9. be thinking about stuff for packing and moving (if i have time)
10. finish up my laundry

will i never learn?

i ran out at lunch, intending to swim, but remembering a different errand i needed to run (swim has now been pushed back to after work, which is fine, since i can go longer and not do my hair and makeup afterwards).

anyway, i needed to grab something for lunch, and the closest place to my errand was baja fresh. i really really want to like this place, but every time i go there, i'm disappointed. it isn't cheap, i typically have to wait longer than i'd like, and the food isn't that good. the chips are good. but the other food... meh. so i've been there three or so times in the past year, ordered something different every time, and been not thrilled every time. i want to call it quits, but on my receipt, i noticed that i can get a free sport cup at my next visit if i fill out an online survey. i can't pass up free!! maybe i'll just go and order chips and salsa. i'm such a sucker.

*sigh*

thought i'd share...

i feel sorry for you...

...if you don't watch lost. it was a-mazing last night. my jaw dropped at least 5 times in the course of the two hour finale, and i'm not usually that reactive to stuff on tv. i'm already antsy for next season to find out what happens!

finally gave in

i finally gave in to my cold and stayed home from work today after being up half the night hacking my lungs up. it was even less pleasant than it sounds.

some good did come of it, however, as i was able to look through the west elm catalog that i got in the mail yesterday. i spotted some cute bedding that was on sale (pictured below). i was already thinking i might invest in it, so i called the store near me to see if they had any in stock. not only did they have it in stock, it was on an even bigger markdown than in the catalog! needless to say, they are holding the quilt and shams for me to buy later today.


a rundown of my savings:

quilt:
originally $149
on sale for $29.97!!! (savings of 80%!!)

standard shams (set of two):
originally $49 (insanity)
on sale for $9.97

euro shams (each):
originally $39
on sale for $9.97 (getting 2)

so, for very high quality, design line stuff, i'll get the whole setup (including frivolous shams) for around $60. pretty dang good. my bargain good luckiness is still in effect even when i'm knocked over by a bad cold. hooray!

tuesdays are for road rage

i'm not sure what it was this morning, but traffic was awful. i think every single road between my apartment and work is under construction. plus, people were being just stupid and going all the wrong speeds and everything. i was shaking my fist and cursing at drivers the whole way in. it probably wasn't as bad as it seemed, but i am still not feeling well, which surely contributed to my low tolerance. i almost stayed home to rest and get better today, but after my cold medicine finally kicked in 2 hours after i took it, i decided to tough it out. i do think things are moving in the right direction. i'm less foggy feeling than i have been, and my sinuses don't feel as heavy. my cough, however, has worsened, though my throat hurts less. so there's the daily update on my sickness. how very exciting, i know. i hope i'm all better by thursday for the corporate challenge and the weekend for camping.

monday tidbits

so i'm fighting off (with little success) this nasty head cold that had developed from those sniffles on friday. i've been severely congested with a sore throat (most likely secondary to sinus drainage - ewwwww), and a bit of a cough (that i think is secondary to the sore throat, thereby tertiary to sinus drainage, ewwwww, got that?). i thought i was going to DIE in the boringest meeting ever due to my discomfort this morning, so i just now ran out to buy some sudafed (not the wimpy over the counter crap, but the show- the- pharmacist- your- drivers- license- powerful- 12 hour- non- drowsy- sudafed- imitation- by- target). hopefully that kicks in soon and i can go about my day.

also my sister posted this website that you can find out what the billboard #1 song was the day you were born. mine was "le freak" by chic. awesome. at least i've heard of it. ah well, kind of a fun little distraction.

other than that, weather's a lot nicer today than for the cubs/sox game yesterday. heath and i braved the frigid temps for the first 7.5 innings. after pierzynski's grand slam, we decided that was enough and we should head for the train. it was one of our better decisions, as it was getting dark in the west and by the time we got back up to evanston and turned the game on the tv, a rain delay was in progress. apparently the heavens opened up and just duh-umped rain on the field in the top of the 9th. glad we missed that part and stayed dry. cold was bad enough; cold + soaking wet would've been miserable. dumbfounding that the weather was so great saturday (shorts and tshirts) and is great today, but when we have $$$ tickets to a ballgame, late november decides to stop by for a day. sheesh. love that chicago weather!

sniffles

how did i get the sniffles? i woke up feeling stuffy and my nose has been running all morning. what the heck? probably has something to do with the psychotic weather this week. we go from 90 degrees on monday to a frost advisory this morning. ahhhhh, chicago weather. hopefully it is nicer than expected this weekend. would be good to spend some time outdoors again without having to be completely bundled up.

i'm in the wrong industry

how simple is this? i could totally make this. it's not dissimilar from some reversible bags i sewed up for myself, jessie, and mindy several years ago. if anything, it's a less complex design! this chick that makes them wants $128 a pop for them, and it was featured on a relatively popular design/shopping blog, which means that people don't find the price unreasonable. they are just heavy cotton twill, with "cleverly" semi-matching fabrics, and couldn't have cost more than $25 for the materials, if the priciest fanciest materials were used. i'm wondering if i should start doing some sewing/textile stuff on the side and try to get stuff sold on etsy.com or something. i should try to come up with a few products/designs and give it a shot.

apple iRack

funny stuff...

the fairer sex

saw this article this evening. i didn't know this, but apparently 13 women underwent all the same tests in the 1960s as the male apollo astronauts, and were as qualified, if not better suited, to being astronauts. but being the 60s, they weren't allowed to be astronauts. amazing how recent it was that ovaries excluded you from certain career options. not that things are totally equal these days, but they're sure a lot better. reminds me of the line from last night's family guy. the tv reporter raises the questions on everybody's mind regarding lois's ability to be mayor: "...or is she just going to menstruate all over the city?"

jeans that fit

i lifted this from my cousin (2nd cousin?) wendy's myspace page. (can you tell it's very slow at work this morning?) there is a website www.zafu.com that will search for jeans that will fit your body type based on a few questions. i tried it out, and it's hard to say how accurate it is without actually going and trying on their suggestions, but definitely seems like it might be at least fairly valid. shopping for women's jeans can suck big time, so if this helps narrow the field, then hooray!

just in time for mother's day

saw this article today and thought my sister would appreciate it. it describes how becoming a mother enhances a woman's mental abilities.

Tired, overwhelmed women often feel as if having a baby causes their minds to turn to mush. Not so. In her book, The Mommy Brain, Katherine Ellison cites research showing motherhood makes women smarter and more mentally agile.

don't know if it's true or not, but it was pretty interesting and i thought i'd pass it along.

at least i didn't wait until tomorrow...

i went to target today to buy mother's day cards. ugh. it was a freakin zoo. there was this little boy basically flailing around on the ground in front of the display where i was standing. the woman next to me didn't seem to be noticing. i finally said to her, "is this your kid? i don't want to step on him." and she said that, yes, it was her son, and then said that maybe if i stepped on him, he'd learn not to be flailing on the ground like that.

...

uh... so, her parenting approach (gotta love the irony of her being in front of the mother's day cards) is for strangers to indirectly teach her brat kid lessons, so that she doesn't have to actively discipline him? right. the second i would've stepped on that kid's ankle, the woman would have been completely on my case for hurting her precious little angel. i was so shocked by her statement that i lost all focus on finding a card (not that i had any anyway trying to not step on her kid). so i relocated to another picked over section to search for cards that weren't too lame. finally had success, but needed to take an advil when i got back to work (partly due to inexplicably awful traffic today).

i've seen "passive" parenting before and been annoyed by it, but this was a new twist - a parent coming out and basically saying that she was indeed not actively parenting and was actually hoping that a stranger would step in to motivate a change in her child's behavior. wow.

random

i was looking at something related to grand rapids, mi today online and came across the official flag. i know it is meant to represent the calder sculpture and the grand river, but i can't help but think it looks sort of like a scary demented pacman.

what the hot?

i'm roasting! it's like 80 degrees right now and i'm sweltering in my apartment. what's up with that? i'm starting to go through and organize my clothes right now, including (ugh) sweaters, so it's going to get worse before it gets better for me tonight. i emptied my dresser drawers onto my bedroom floor, so it's a disaster in there at the moment. it will force me to go through everything, though, so it's an effective, if unruly, approach!

i'm back

back from ireland a bit early. due to a reaggravation of a hamstring injury and some problems with my bike, i headed home earlier than planned. i was also getting homesick, so it was good to get back. unfortunately, i'm also back at work, and i feel like i'm in office space...somebody has a case of the tuesdays... this woman in the cube next to mine is droning on a phone call and it's this weird combination of putting me to sleep and giving me a headache. where's my itunes? ok, that's better.

i managed to post my pictures on photobucket for the time being, but bear with me as they are pretty much out of order and not all clearly labeled. i also failed to rotate them all so they are oriented the same way, but most of them should be fine to check out.

everybody is so sad to see me back at work, and they feel bad that i had to cut the trip short, but i'm really okay with it. i still got to see a lot of really cool stuff and had a good time while i was there, so no need to feel like i missed half my trip or anything. coming home was the right decision. i would've been in pain and frustrated with my bike if i had stayed this week, too.

now that i'm back, i need to start really getting ready to move and going through all my stuff, throwing out/selling/giving away stuff i don't need or use. i also need to prime my walls back to white before i move out. rather than waiting until the last minute to take care of that stuff, i'm going to kind of spread it out over a couple weeks, maybe painting a couple nights a week, taking care of one room or so at a time. that should make it a lot more tolerable.

there is also a bunch of stuff to look forward to, as well, over the next several weeks. a couple of cubs game, a kane county cougars game, camping in warren dunes over memorial day, the corporate challenge, possibly a show or two at ravinia and probably some other things i'm forgetting.