If you\u2019re looking for an example of the good work that can be done-and has been done\u2014by a president, Democrats and a US Congress who care about equality, fairness and the general well-being of our democracy, there\u2019s no better place to start than with the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009.<\/p>\n
In fact, it was a great place to start for President Obama, too, as it was the first act he signed into law as President, on January 29, 2009.<\/p>\n
The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act \u201cstruck a powerful blow for justice \u2026for anyone who has been victimized by wage discrimination,\u201d said the ACLU after the signing ceremony.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s review. The law is named after Lilly Ledbetter, a former Goodyear plant manager. After nearly 20 years working at a plant in Alabama, Ledbetter found out she was being paid far less than her 15 male counterparts and sued. Eventually, in 2007, the US Supreme Court ruled against her claim. In the majority opinion, written by Justice Samuel Alito, the Court held that \u201cLedbetter\u2019s complaint was time barred, because the discriminatory decisions relating to pay had been made more than 180 days prior to the date she filed her charge.\u201d \u00a0In effect, the Supreme Court said that time runs out on paycheck discrimination claims 180 after the first paycheck\u2014even if a worker doesn\u2019t find out about discriminatory practices until much later.<\/p>\n
Workers\u2019 rights groups, the ACLU and others were outraged by the Supreme Court decision, saying that, by enforcing an unreasonable statute of limitations, it denied many employees the right to challenge, in federal courts, illegal wage discrimination.<\/p>\n
The Fair Pay Act rights that wrong. It amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964<\/a>, stating that the 180-day statute of limitations for filing an equal-pay lawsuit regarding pay discrimination resets with each new discriminatory paycheck<\/em>.<\/p>\n