The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act up for vote tomorrow Jan 9

Tell Congress to Support Fair Pay Today

[Related story and youtube]

With the beginning of the New Year, two very important civil rights bills that would strengthen the economic security of families and defend against wage discrimination will be voted on by the U.S House of Representatives this Friday: the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and the Paycheck Fairness Act.

On May 29, 2007, the Supreme Court ruled that Lilly Ledbetter, a 19-year employee of Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, could not sue for wage discrimination because she had not filed a claim within 180 days of Goodyear’s decision to pay her unfairly.

This happened even though she only learned she was making less than her male counterparts many years after her employer began discriminating against her. In her case, the unlawful pay disparities occurred in small amounts that built up slowly but steadily over time. Her employer unlawfully paid her less and pocketed the money. The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act (H.R. 11) will correct the Supreme Court’s ruling.

Over 45 years ago, Congress passed the Equal Pay Act to fix the disparity in wages between men and women, but over time, loopholes and weak remedies have lessened its effectiveness. The Paycheck Fairness Act (H.R. 12) makes several common sense changes to strengthen the Equal Pay Act - putting in place enforcement tools needed to make real progress on pay equity.

Take action today to restore remedies for workplace discrimination and to strengthen our tools to combat wage disparities.