Women who are paid less than their male counterparts for the same work now have clear legal recourse to remedy the situation—even if the inequity has occurred for years.
President Barack Obama signed The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which gives women—and men—the opportunity to sue over wage discrimination that may have stretched over decades. UUP and other unions have supported such legislation for years.
The president inked the law Jan. 29, just two days after the Democratic-led House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed the bill, 250-170. The Senate approved the bill Jan. 22, by a vote of 61-36.
“The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act gives women the tools they need to successfully challenge pay discrimination that may have gone on for years without them knowing about it,” said UUP President Phillip Smith. “This bill rights a wrong and closes a loophole in the Civil Rights Act of 1964.”
“Equal pay for equal work is more than just what’s fair and right,” he continued. “For many struggling families during these tough economic times, equal pay may mean the difference between making ends meet and paying the bills or keeping food on the table.”
Three UUPers—Lydia Johnson and Tina Manning of Stony Brook HSC and Lorna Arrington of SUNY Buffalo—worked for passage of the Fair Pay Act as members of the Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW).
“Thank you to Lilly Ledbetter for the sacrifice she made for our daughters and granddaughters for generations to come,” Johnson said. “Our new administration clearly saw the importance of passing the Fair Pay Act and signed it into law two weeks after entering office.”
Bush administration, GOP blocked bill
This Ledbetter bill passed the House in the previous Congress, but Senate Republicans stalled it, preventing a vote. Former President George W. Bush said he would not sign the bill if Congress approved it.
The law reverses a 2007 Supreme Court decision that overturned a lower court ruling that awarded Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. employee Lilly Ledbetter $3 million in back pay and damages over wage discrimination.
Ledbetter, 70, worked at a Goodyear tire plant in Alabama for 19 years. She sued the company in 1998 after discovering that she was the lowest-paid supervisor on the job, even though she had more experience than some of her male co-workers. She claimed the pay inequity began in 1992, but didn’t file then because she was unaware of it at the time.
In a 5-4 ruling, the Supreme Court threw out Ledbetter’s case because she failed to file the claim within 180 days of receiving the first paycheck she felt was discriminatory, as stated in the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
The new law modifies the Civil Rights Act. It dictates that each paycheck renews the 180-day statute of limitations period. The law also applies to wage discrimination based on race, religion, disability and country of origin.
The Ledbetter bill became a key issue for women during the 2008 presidential election. Obama featured Ledbetter in one of his television campaign ads, and she spoke at Obama rallies and at the 2008 Democratic National Convention in August 2008.
— Michael Lisi