Employment Attorney Camille Olson Quoted in Chicago Tribune
"Paycheck Fairness?"

Camille Olson, Chair of Seyfarth Shaw's Complex Discrimination Litigation practice group, who regularly testifies before Congress concerning management's perspective on employment-related legislation, and testified in opposition to the Paycheck Fairness Act in 2007, was quoted in a Chicago Tribune editorial on the legislation. The editorial discussed the Paycheck Fairness Act, commenting that "Congress is moving toward a fix that would be grossly intrusive on decision-making by private businesses." According to the editorial, "at least one group would get a fatter paycheck from the Paycheck Fairness Act: trial lawyers."

The piece also pointed out that a company may pay more to workers with greater experience. For instance, if women haven't been on the job as long as men, they would likely earn less. The burden would be on the employer to prove that experience not only yielded a measurably better quantity and quality of work, but also that it was the best yardstick to use. "How are you going to prove that?" Camille asked when she testified against the legislation on behalf of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. "It would be very, very difficult," she added.

Read the full editorial here: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/editorials/ct-edit-paycheck-20101112,0,6237541.story.