The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which states that the 180-day statute of limitations for pay discrimination resets with each new discriminatory paycheck, was signed into U.S. law on January 29, 2009, by U.S. President Barack Obama.
The law was enacted in response to Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., 550 U.S. 618 (2007), a U.S. Supreme Court decision holding that the statute of limitations for filing an equal-pay lawsuit begins at the date the pay was agreed upon, not at the date of the most recent paycheck, as a lower court had ruled. This precluded lawsuits by plaintiffs who alleged ongoing pay discrimination but who did not discover it until years after the discrimination began.
A bill to amend the statutory limitations period and supersede the Ledbetter decision failed to pass in the 110th Congress, and was re-introduced in the first session of the 111th United States Congress. In the 2008 elections, the Democrats criticized Republicans for defeating the 2007 version of the bill, citing Republican presidential candidate John McCain's opposition. Then-candidate Barack Obama supported the bill.[1]From wiki.
The law was enacted in response to Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., 550 U.S. 618 (2007), a U.S. Supreme Court decision holding that the statute of limitations for filing an equal-pay lawsuit begins at the date the pay was agreed upon, not at the date of the most recent paycheck, as a lower court had ruled. This precluded lawsuits by plaintiffs who alleged ongoing pay discrimination but who did not discover it until years after the discrimination began.
A bill to amend the statutory limitations period and supersede the Ledbetter decision failed to pass in the 110th Congress, and was re-introduced in the first session of the 111th United States Congress. In the 2008 elections, the Democrats criticized Republicans for defeating the 2007 version of the bill, citing Republican presidential candidate John McCain's opposition. Then-candidate Barack Obama supported the bill.[1]From wiki.
I heard a great story about Lilly on NPR this week and I wanted to share this information:
*Lives in Jacksonville, Ala. and is 70 years old, a mother and grandmother. Her husband died in December.
• Hired at the Alabama Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company in 1979 and worked as an overnight supervisor (7 p.m. to 7 a.m.) for nearly two decades.
• During her career at Goodyear, Ledbetter suffered sexual harassment and day-to-day discrimination. She testified before Congress in 2007 that a supervisor once asked for sexual favors in return for good job performance evaluations. After Ledbetter complained about the supervisor to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), he was reassigned, but Ledbetter said she felt isolated at work and experienced a long-term pattern of discrimination.
• Got periodic pay raises, but all compensation information was kept confidential at her company. She received a Top Performance Award in 1996.
• Shortly before she was due to retire in 1998, an anonymous co-worker slipped a note into her mailbox at work comparing her pay against that of three other male counterparts. Ledbetter was making $3,727 per month, while men doing the same job were paid $4,286 to $5,236 per month. Ledbetter filed a complaint with the EEOC and was then assigned to lift heavy tires, which she felt was retribution.
• Sued Goodyear, which claimed it paid Ledbetter less than other male workers because she was not a good worker. A jury awarded Ledbetter about $3.3 million, but the amount was later reduced to around $300,000. Subsequently, the Supreme Court voted 5-4 that Ledbetter was not entitled to compensation because she filed her claim more than 180 days after receiving her first discriminatory paycheck.
• The new bill changes the Civil Rights Act so that workers can sue up to 180 days after receiving any discriminatory paycheck.
• Met Obama while he was a senator and campaigned on his behalf. Obama and the future First Lady talked about Ledbetter regularly on the stump and the Alabama native rode with Obama as he took a celebratory train trip to Washington, D.C. before the inauguration. Ledbetter attended the inauguration and danced with the President at a ball afterwards. (from TIME.com)
• Hired at the Alabama Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company in 1979 and worked as an overnight supervisor (7 p.m. to 7 a.m.) for nearly two decades.
• During her career at Goodyear, Ledbetter suffered sexual harassment and day-to-day discrimination. She testified before Congress in 2007 that a supervisor once asked for sexual favors in return for good job performance evaluations. After Ledbetter complained about the supervisor to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), he was reassigned, but Ledbetter said she felt isolated at work and experienced a long-term pattern of discrimination.
• Got periodic pay raises, but all compensation information was kept confidential at her company. She received a Top Performance Award in 1996.
• Shortly before she was due to retire in 1998, an anonymous co-worker slipped a note into her mailbox at work comparing her pay against that of three other male counterparts. Ledbetter was making $3,727 per month, while men doing the same job were paid $4,286 to $5,236 per month. Ledbetter filed a complaint with the EEOC and was then assigned to lift heavy tires, which she felt was retribution.
• Sued Goodyear, which claimed it paid Ledbetter less than other male workers because she was not a good worker. A jury awarded Ledbetter about $3.3 million, but the amount was later reduced to around $300,000. Subsequently, the Supreme Court voted 5-4 that Ledbetter was not entitled to compensation because she filed her claim more than 180 days after receiving her first discriminatory paycheck.
• The new bill changes the Civil Rights Act so that workers can sue up to 180 days after receiving any discriminatory paycheck.
• Met Obama while he was a senator and campaigned on his behalf. Obama and the future First Lady talked about Ledbetter regularly on the stump and the Alabama native rode with Obama as he took a celebratory train trip to Washington, D.C. before the inauguration. Ledbetter attended the inauguration and danced with the President at a ball afterwards. (from TIME.com)
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