(July 17, 2008) Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard joined her congressional colleagues in the House and Senate at a rally to garner support for passage of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and the Paycheck Fairness Act.  The lawmakers discussed Democrats’ commitment to ensure equal pay for working people without regard to gender.  

Ms. Ledbetter (shown in the green and black blazer) worked as a supervisor for a Goodyear Tire plant in Gadsden, Alabama. After nearly two decades, an anonymous note revealed that for years she had beenpaid less than male co-workers who held the same job.  She learned that she was being paid less than all her male counterparts in the department, including recent hires with less job experience.  Ms. Ledbetter brought an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) complaint against Goodyear.  A jury awarded her nearly $225,000 but in a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court ruled that Ms. Ledbetter could not collect the wages Goodyear had cheated her of.  Under the ruling, in order to enforce her right to be paid fairly, Ms. Ledbetter would have had to file a wage-discrimination complaint within 180 days of when the discrimination began.  The Court’s opinion creates an untenable disadvantage for American workers.  Congress must right the wrong to prevent employers from discriminating, taking money out of workers’ pockets and getting away with it. 

The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act would clarify that every paycheck or other compensation resulting, in whole or in part, from an earlier discriminatory pay decision constitutes a violation of the Civil Rights Act.  As long as workers file their charges within 180 days of a discriminatory paycheck, their charges would be considered timely. The legislation would also clarify that, once a worker files a charge, he or she needs not keep filing new charges with each new paycheck, and that employees who are victims of discrimination are entitled to up to two years of back pay, as already provided in the Civil Rights Act.

The Paycheck Fairness Act would prevent, regulate and reduce pay discrimination for women across the country.  It would create a training program to help women strengthen their negotiation skills, enforce equal pay laws for federal contractors and require the Department of Labor to work with employers to eliminate pay disparities by enhancing outreach and training efforts.  Also, the bill would prohibit employers from retaliating against employees who share salary information with their co-workers and allow women to sue for punitive damages in addition to compensatory damages now available under the Equal Pay Act.