Marco Rubio Dismisses Lilly Ledbetter Equal Pay Act As A Boon To ‘Trial Lawyers’

Marco Rubio (the man who could have been Mitt Romney’s running mate in this tight election we’re all now watching with rapt attention) has been stumping for his would-be prez in recent weeks.

Marco Rubio hit the Sunday-morning news chat show circuit yesterday, and discussed Romney’s campaign with George Stephanopoulos. On This Week with George Stephanopoulos, Rubio backed Romney up on his opposition to legislation like the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, one of the first pieces of legislation passed by President Obama after his 2009 inauguration. (The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act was actually the first bill signed into law by Obama after taking office.)

Rubio said that Republicans believe women should be paid equally, just that the law doesn’t necessarily need to reflect that belief — he explains:

“I think anyone who is working out there and making a living — if you’re the most qualified person for the job, you should be able to get paid, you should get paid as much as your male counterpart … Everyone agrees with that principle.”

But even though Rubio says that Republicans support equal work for equal pay, he adds that bills like the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act simply serve to enrich another, male-dominant portion of the population, trial lawyers. Rubio explains:

“Just because they call a piece of legislation an equal pay bill doesn’t make it so … In fact, much of this legislation is, in many respects, nothing but an effort to help trial lawyers collect their fees and file lawsuits, which may not contribute at all whatsoever to increasing pay equity in the workplace.”

Do you agree with Marco Rubio that the ability to sue for equal compensation is not a contributing factor to salary parity?