I recently offered my thoughts on the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act, designed to correct a pay discrimination matter following a misguided decision by the U.S. Supreme Court. I’m pleased to share with you my op-ed, which recently ran in the Oakland Tribune.
Forty-five years after the Equal Pay Act outlawed wage discrimination on the basis of gender, workers throughout this great nation not only still suffer pay discrimination, but are seeing historical protections against such inequity stripped away.
The story of Lilly Ledbetter is a clear example that when it comes to achieving the principle of equal pay for equal work, we still have a long way to go.
Lilly Ledbetter was a manager at an Alabama Goodyear Tire plant when she discovered, after 19 years of service, that she was earning 20 to 40 percent less than her male co-workers doing the exact same job.
In 1997, her last year at Goodyear, Ms. Ledbetter earned $5,608 less than her lowest-paid male co-worker and over $18,000 less than her highest-paid male coworker.
When she discovered this, she took Goodyear to court, and a jury awarded her full damages. But Goodyear appealed the jury’s decision, and in 2007 the Supreme Court overturned the verdict, holding that Lilly Ledbetter could not sue for back pay because she failed to file suit within 180 days of the original discriminatory decision.
With its decision, the Supreme Court reversed decades of legal precedent as well as long-standing Equal Employment Opportunity Commission policies which calculate the statute of limitations from the date of the last discriminatory paycheck.
By creating an unrealistic time constraint, the Ledbetter decision effectively undermined a fundamental protection against pay discrimination.
That is why I am proud to cosponsor The Fair Pay Restoration Act, legislation introduced by Senator Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA) to ensure that victims of pay discrimination have their day in court.
This common-sense legislation eliminates the unreasonable barrier created by the Supreme Court and allows workers to file a pay discrimination claim within 180 days of each discriminatory paycheck.
In today’s uncertain economy, the issue of pay inequity is particularly relevant.
Today, women still earn 23 percent less than men.
Minorities are also impacted by pay inequity. African American men earn 21 percent less than their white counterparts. And Latino employees earn just 72 cents for every dollar paid to white employees.
But the issue of pay equity isn’t just about ending discrimination. At a time when CEO pay is growing exponentially while the average worker has seen his or her wages stagnate, ensuring strong safeguards against wage discrimination is a fundamental part of achieving an economy that works for everyone.
Unfortunately, my Republican colleagues do not share this vision, and they used procedural measures to block an up-or-down vote on our legislation in an effort to defend the status quo.
Senate Democrats are committed to reversing the damage done by the Ledbetter decision and working to ensure that employers are not able to discriminate against their employees.
It’s clear to me that there must be equal pay for equal work, but if we don’t pass correcting legislation this will never be the case
