President Barack Obama has signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay
Act into law. The legislation makes it easier for workers to file
pay-bias complaints under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
The law arose in response to a 2007 Supreme Court decision that said
the deadline for workers to file a pay-bias complaint with the U.S.
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission under Title VII of the Civil
Rights Act is 180 days from the date the decision on their pay is made
and communicated to them. Some lawmakers found this deadline too
restrictive because many workers don’t discover they were discriminated
against in pay until long after the action is taken.
The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act amends Title VII of the Civil
Rights Act to clarify that the 180-day deadline restarts each time an
employee receives a paycheck that reflects past discrimination based on
race, color, religion, gender, or national origin.
Specifically, the legislation states that “an unlawful employment
practice occurs … when a discriminatory compensation decision or other
practice is adopted, when an individual becomes subject to a
discriminatory compensation decision or other practice, or when an
individual is affected by application of a discriminatory compensation
decision or other practice, including each time wages, benefits, or
other compensation is paid, resulting in whole or in part from such a
decision or other practice.”
The legislation also amends the Age Discrimination in Employment Act to include the provision quoted above.
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Once Obama signed the legislation, it took “effect as if enacted on
May 28, 2007 and applies to all claims of discrimination in
compensation under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age
Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (29 U.S.C. 621 et seq.), title
I and section 503 of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, and
sections 501 and 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, that are
pending on or after that date.”
Why did lawmakers choose that date? It was the day before the Supreme Court ruling.
The Supreme Court case involved Lilly Ledbetter, a supervisor at
Goodyear Tire and Rubber’s plant in Gadsden, Alabama, from 1979 until
her retirement in 1998. At first, her pay was in line with the salaries
of men, but over time, a gap developed between her salary and the pay
of male area managers with equal or less seniority. By the end of 1997,
Ledbetter was the only woman working as an area manager and was paid
$3,727 per month. By comparison, the pay of the lowest paid male area
manager was $4,286 per month.
Ledbetter sued in 1998, alleging disparate treatment. The company
argued that the suit should be dismissed because Ledbetter failed to
file a complaint with the EEOC within 180 days of the previous pay
decisions that Ledbetter alleges were discriminatory.
However, Ledbetter argued that the clock on the 180-day deadline
restarted after each paycheck that reflected past discrimination. She
claimed that each time the company issued her a paycheck, the company
demonstrated an intent to discriminate and violated Title VII. The
majority of the Supreme Court rejected her arguments, saying Ledbetter
should have filed a complaint after each pay decision.