In a show of support for the members of the women's national soccer team who recently filed a wage discrimination complaint, U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04) joined House colleagues in sending a letter to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission urging the Commission to take prompt action to eliminate the glaring pay disparity between men and women who play soccer.

    “The wage gap for the U.S. Women’s Soccer team is astonishing, even when compared to the shameful national average,” said Smith, a co-sponsor of the Paycheck Fairness Act, which would increase penalties for employers who pay different wages to men and women for equal work. “Especially since last summer’s World Cup win, women’s soccer is enjoying heightened popularity and record ratings. The Commission can and should use this momentum to ensure fair and equal compensation for women in the sport.”

    April 12 is Equal Pay Day, a day of public awareness to highlight the gap between men's and women's wages. On March 31, 2016, five U.S. Women’s National Team members filed a claim with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the federal agency tasked with enforcing workplace rights, alleging the Federation engaged in wage discrimination by paying the women’s team significantly less than the men’s.

    An analysis by FiveThirtyEight recently found that top men’s players earned almost twice as much as top women’s players during their respective World Cup years.

    “The National Team's wage discrimination claim highlights that over 50 years after the signing of the Equal Pay Act, we have much more to do and the wage gap remains stubborn in all industries and areas of our country,” Smith continued. “The team is simply requesting what they have earned and deserve: equal pay for equal play. And they should get it.”

    The letter, addressed to Commission Chairman Jenny Yang and initiate by Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), stated in part: "Paying people fairly for the work they do shouldn't be dependent on their gender, race or ethnicity. By acting for women now, and ensuring they get paid the same as men for the same work, we can give them, their families and our entire economy the tools to recover and thrive." Click here to read the letter.

    The complaint was filed by Hope Solo, Megan Rapinoe, Becky Sauerbrunn, Alex Morgan, and New Jersey native Carli Lloyd.

    According to the American Association of University Women, women in New Jersey have a wage gap of 80 percent—for every dollar men in New Jersey make, women make only 80 cents.  Nationally, it’s 78 cents.

    In addition to cosponsoring the Paycheck Fairness Act, Smith voted twice for the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, to overturn the Supreme Court decision that limited the time a woman could file employment discrimination charges and receive compensation.

    Smith has also been a strong advocate for Title IX to provide equal athletic opportunity for members of both sexes, including voting for the Civil Rights Restoration Act (PL100-259), overturning the 1984 Grove City College v. Bell decision which ruled that institutions could continue to receive federal funding even if non-federally funded programs within those institutions discriminated on the basis of sex, race or disability.

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