Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act
The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which was signed into law on Jan. 29, 2009, restores the protection against pay discrimination that was stripped away by the Supreme Court's decision in Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. The Act reinstates prior law and helps to ensure that individuals subjected to unlawful pay discrimination are able to effectively assert their rights under federal anti-discrimination laws.
The Act makes clear that pay discrimination claims on the basis of sex, race, national origin, age, religion and disability "accrue whenever an employee receives a discriminatory paycheck, as well as when a discriminatory pay decision or practice is adopted, when a person becomes subject to the decision or practice, or when a person is otherwise affected by the decision or practice.
Background
In 2007, the Supreme Court's 5-4 decision in Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. severely limited workers ability to challenge wage discrimination in court. Three weeks after the Supreme Court decision, Rep. George Miller (D-CA) introduced the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act in the House of Representatives, righting the wrong that five justices had done to the nation's basic equal pay protections. The House passed this bill on July 31, 2007, but when the bill came to the Senate floor in April 2008 a powerful minority prevented the bill from moving forward.
As part of this opposition, some Senators offered alternatives to the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act that did not adequately remedy the Supreme Court's decision. One alternative bill offered by Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) was misleadingly named the "Title VII Fairness Act.
Recognizing that the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act was the only bill that would give women back critical tools they need to challenge wage discrimination, organizations across the country advocated for the immediate passage of the bill in the 111th Congress. The new Congress responded to this demand and immediately passed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. President Obama signed the bill into law on Jan. 29, 2009.