Supreme Court Decision Threatens Employee’s Civil Rights

The Supreme Court recently issued a narrow 5-4 decision in the case of Lilly Ledbetter v. Goodyear that will make it more difficult for employees to protect themselves from discrimination in the workplace.  Ms. Ledbetter was a former employee of Goodyear who was paid less than her male counterparts.  A jury found that Goodyear discriminated against Ms. Ledbetter and awarded her $3.8 million in back pay and damages.  Despite this ruling, the Supreme Court decided that her claim was made too late and reversed the decision.  Their ruling has far-reaching implications for equal pay in the workplace, and as a member of the House Education and Labor Committee I intend to work to correct this wrong decision. 

Click here to read about a recent Education and Labor Committee hearing on the Ledbetter v. Goodyear decision.

Title VII requires an employee who wishes to file a discrimination claim against an employer to file a charge within 180 days of the discriminatory action.  Ms. Ledbetter has filed a charge within 180 days of receiving discriminatory pay, but did not file within 180 days of the physical act of writing the discriminatory checks.  Therefore, the Supreme Court decided that Ms. Ledbetter was owed nothing by her former employer Goodyear.

This decision is wholly unacceptable.  I find it appalling that the Supreme Court thinks that there is a timeline for discrimination.  It is unrealistic to expect victims of pay discrimination to realize the inequity within 180 days.  I am committed to work with Chairman Miller of the House Education and Labor Committee to fix this problem so that we can continue to safeguard employees from workplace inequality.

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