Saturday, January 24, 2009

Lillly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act Passed in the Senate

I never understood why any congressman\woman or senator would oppose equal pay for women doing the same job as a man. Lilly Ledbetter was a significant supporter for Barack Obama during the campaign and now this bill with her name on it is one step closer to becoming law.

A wage-discrimination bill that narrowly failed less than a year ago moved closer to becoming law last night, when the Senate passed the legislation and sent it back to the House for final consideration.

The measure, approved 61 to 36, would overturn a Supreme Court decision to make it easier for women to sue employers for pay inequity, regardless of when the discrepancies took place. It may become the first legislation signed by President Obama, who campaigned in favor of it.

This bill came to pass because Ledbetter discover pay discrepancies between her salary and the male counterparts, which ended up in a lawsuit driven all the way to the Supreme Court. What happened is that the lawsuit was thrown out because she did not file suit within the 180-day statute.
The discrepancy cost her lost wages and also lowered her retirement earnings because her Social Security and 401(k) contributions were based on her salary. But the court ruled that Ledbetter's case was not allowed under the 1964 Civil Rights Act because the statute of limitations on claims was 180 days after the alleged discrimination took place.

See what a change in the White House brings??? Satisfaction.

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