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For Immediate Release: Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Contact: Jenice Robinson or Ranit Schmelzer, 202-588-5180
LEDBETTER BILL WOULD REMEDY SUPREME COURT DECISION
Bill Addresses Statute of Limitations Question
(Washington, D.C.) Members of the House should do the right thing for American workers and quickly pass the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, a bill that ensures Title VII’s promise of equal pay for equal work can be enforced, the National Women’s Law Center said today.
The bill, which the House Education and Labor Committee is expected to vote on today, remedies a key part of the Supreme Court’s recent crushing decision in Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., which held that employees only have 180 days under Title VII to challenge a discriminatory decision on their compensation – even if the discriminatory pay persists or becomes worse over months and years. Title VII is the law that outlaws workplace discrimination based on race, sex, religion and national origin. The bill establishes that the statutory limitations period begins anew each time an employee receives a discriminatory paycheck.
“This bill reflects the realities of the workplace and the realities of wage discrimination,” said Jocelyn Samuels, Vice President for Education and Employment at the National Women’s Law Center. “This bill ensures that employers can be held accountable for discriminatory pay decisions.”
Separately, the House Judiciary Committee is slated Thursday to have a hearing that addresses the caps in damages under Title VII, which particularly impacts women. Before the Supreme Court’s decision, the damages Ledbetter had been awarded by a jury were substantially reduced because of the artificial caps in Title VII. NWLC Co-President Marcia Greenberger will testify at the hearing and discuss the pernicious effect of these caps.
To this day, women earn less than men in virtually every occupation and job category, at every age and stage in their employment, and for every hour worked. On average, women earn only about 77 cents for every dollar earned by men. In addition, the wage gap expands over the course of a woman’s working life, with serious economic consequences. Pay discrimination is responsible for a significant portion of this gap.
“The House’s pending legislation to address the Supreme Court’s harmful decision in Ledbetter is the right thing for women and all workers,” Samuels said.
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