mr. speaker , i yield myself such time as i may consume . 
mr. speaker , i guess it is politically popular to attack lawyers and judges , but what i am concerned about is what this bill will do to average people who are seeking remedies for being mistreated . 
i want to read an excerpt from the leadership conference on civil rights , afl/cio , and the alliance for justice statement . 
one of things they point out is that nowhere has a case been made that abuses exist in anti-discrimination and wage and hour class action litigation . 
they point out by allowing dozens of employees to bring one lawsuit together , the class action device is frequently the only means for low-wage workers who have been denied mere dollars a day to recover their lost wages . 
moreover , class actions are also often the only means to effectively change a policy of discrimination . 
wage and hour class actions are most often brought in states under the law of the state in which the claim arises . 
the reason is that state wage and hour laws typically provide more complete remedies for victims of wage and hour violations than the federal wage and hour statute . 
for instance , the federal fair labor standards act offers no protection , no protection for a worker who works 30 hours and is paid for 20 , so long as the worker 's total pay for the 30 hours worked exceeds the federal minimum wage . 
however , many states have payment of wage laws that would require that the workers be fully paid for those additional 10 hours of work . 
also , federal law provides no remedy for part-time workers who often work 10- to 16-hour days , yet earn no overtime because they work less than 40 hours per week . 
at least six states and territories , however , including california and alaska , require payment of overtime after a prescribed number of hours of work in a single day . 
likewise , state laws increasingly provide greater civil rights protections than federal laws . 
for example , every state has passed a law prohibiting discrimination on the basis of disability . 
some of these state statutes provide a broader definition of disability and a greater range of protection in comparison to the federal americans with disabilities act , including california , minnesota , new jersey , new york , rhode island , washington , and west virginia . 
in addition , every state has enacted a law prohibiting age discrimination in employment . 
some of these state laws , including those in california , michigan , ohio and the district of columbia , contain provisions affording greater protection to older workers than comparable provisions of the federal age discrimination and employment act . 
in addition , many state laws provide protections to classifications not covered by federal law . 
for example , many states provide expanded benefits based on marital status , and i could go on and on and on . 
the point of the matter here is that this legislation is basically denying people the rights and the protections that many of them have fought so hard to earn in their states , and it leads to more injustice and more unfairness . 
leadership conference on civil rights , alliance for justice , afl-cio , washington , dc , february 2 , 2005 . 
exempt civil rights and wage and hour cases from s. 5 dear senators , on behalf of the undersigned civil rights and labor organizations , we write to urge you to support an amendment being offered by senators kennedy and cantwell to the class action fairness act ( s. 5 ) , which would exempt civil rights and wage and hour state law cases . 
the amendment is necessary in order to ensure that s. 5 does not adversely impact the workplace and civil rights of ordinary americans by making it extremely difficult to enforce civil rights and labor rights . 
during congress ' extensive examination of the merits of class action lawsuits , nowhere has a case been made that abuses exist in anti-discrimination and wage and hour class-action litigation . 
by allowing dozens of employees to bring one lawsuit together , the class-action device is frequently the only means for low wage workers who have been denied mere dollars a day to recover their lost wages . 
moreover , class actions also are often the only means to effectively change a policy of discrimination . 
these suits level the playing field between individuals and those with more power and resources , and permit courts to decide cases more efficiently . 
wage and hour class actions are most often brought in state courts under the law of the state in which the claims arise . 
the reason is that state wage and hour laws typically provide more complete remedies for victims of wage and hour violations than the federal wage and hour statute . 
for instance , the federal fair labor standards act ( flsa ) offers no protection for a worker who works 30 hours and is paid for 20 , so long as the worker 's total pay for the 30 hours worked exceeds the federal minimum wage . 
however , many states have `` payment of wage '' laws that would require that the worker be fully paid for those additional 10 hours of work . 
also , federal law provides no remedy for part-time workers who often work 10-16 hour days , yet earn no overtime because they work less than 40 hours per week . 
at least six states and territories , however , including california and alaska , require payment of overtime after a prescribed number of hours are worked in a single day . 
likewise , state laws increasingly provide greater civil rights protection than federal law . 
for example , every state has passed a law prohibiting discrimination on the basis of disability . 
some of these states statutes provide a broader definition of disability and a greater range of protection in comparison to the federal americans with disabilities act , including california , minnesota , new jersey , new york , rhode island , washington , and west virginia . 
in addition , every state has enacted a law prohibiting age discrimination in employment , and some of these state laws -- including those of california , michigan , ohio and the district of columbia -- contain provisions affording greater protection to older workers than comparable provisions of the federal age discrimination in employment act ( adea ) . 
in addition , many state laws provide protections to classifications not covered by federal law . 
for example , the following states provide protection for marital status : alaska , california , connecticut , delaware , florida , hawaii , illinois , maryland , michigan , minnesota , montana , nebraska , new hampshire , new jersey , new york , north dakota , oregon , virginia , washington , and wisconsin . 
moreover , several states have expanded title vii 's ban on national origin discrimination to prohibit discrimination on the basis of ancestry , or place of birth , or citizenship status . 
these states include arkansas , california , colorado , connecticut , hawaii , illinois , indiana , kansas , maine , massachusetts , missouri , new jersey , new mexico , ohio , pennsylvania , south dakota , vermont , west virginia , wisconsin , wyoming , and the virgin islands . 
finally , 31 states have enacted legislation prohibiting genetic discrimination in the workplace -- an important protection given the rapid increase in the ability to gather this type of information . 
the 31 states are arizona , arkansas , california , connecticut , delaware , hawaii , iowa , kansas , louisiana , maine , maryland , massachusetts , michigan , minnesota , missouri , nebraska , nevada , new hampshire , new jersey , new york , north carolina , oklahoma , oregon , rhode island , south dakota , texas , utah , vermont , virginia , washington , and wisconsin . 
in addition , florida and illinois have enacted more limited protections against genetic discrimination . 
under s. 5 , citizens are denied the right to use their own state courts to bring class actions against corporations that violate these state wage and hour and state civil rights laws , even where that corporation has hundreds of employees in that state . 
moving these state law cases into federal court will delay and likely deny justice for working men and women and victims of discrimination . 
the federal courts are already overburdened . 
additionally , federal courts are less likely to certify classes or provide relief for violations of state law . 
in light of the lack of any compelling need to sweep state wage and hour and civil rights claims into the scope of the bill , we urge you to support an amendment to exempt these claims from the provisions of s. 5 . 
if you have any questions , or need further information , please call nancy zirkin , deputy director of the leadership conference on civil rights ( 202-263-2880 ) ; sandy brantley , legislative counsel , alliance for justice ( 202-822-6070 ) ; or bill samuel , legislative director , afl-cio ( 202-637-5320 ) . 
sincerely , alliance for justice . 
american-arab anti-discrimination committee . 
american association of people with disabilities . 
american association of university women . 
american civil liberties union . 
american federation for the blind . 
american federation of government employees . 
american federation of school administrators . 
american federation of state , county & amp ; municipal employees . 
american federation of teachers . 
american jewish committee . 
americans for democratic action . 
the arc of the united states . 
association of flight attendants . 
bazelon center for mental health law . 
center for justice and democracy . 
coalition of black trade unionists . 
communications workers of america . 
consortium for citizens with disabilities civil rights task force . 
department for professional employees , afl-cio . 
disability rights education and defense fund . 
epilepsy foundation . 
federally employed women . 
federally employed women 's legal & amp ; education fund , inc . 
food & amp ; allied service trades department , afl-cio . 
human rights campaign . 
international association of machinists and aerospace workers . 
international brotherhood of boilermakers , iron ship builders , blacksmiths , forgers and helpers . 
international brotherhood of electrical workers . 
international brotherhood of teamsters . 
international federation of professional & amp ; technical engineers . 
international union of bricklayers and allied craftworkers . 
international union of painters and allied trades of the united states and canada . 
international union , united automobile , aerospace & amp ; agricultural workers of america . 
jewish labor committee . 
lawyers ' committee for civil rights under law . 
leadership conference on civil rights . 
legal momentum . 
mexican american legal defense and educational fund . 
naacp legal defense & amp ; educational fund , inc . 
national alliance of postal and federal employees . 
national asian pacific american legal consortium . 
national association for equal opportunity in higher education . 
national association of protection and advocacy systems . 
national association of social workers . 
national employment lawyers association . 
national fair housing alliance . 
national organization for women . 
national partnership for women and families . 
national women 's law center . 
paper , allied-industrial , chemical and energy workers international union . 
paralyzed veterans of america . 
people for the american way . 
pride at work , afl-cio . 
service employees international union . 
transport workers union of america . 
transportation communications international union . 
unitarian universalist association of congregations . 
united cerebral palsy . 
united food and commercial workers international union . 
united steelworkers of america . 
utility worker union of america . 
women employed . 
mr. speaker , i reserve the balance of my time . 
