U.S. Senators Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.) Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) today called on the Senate to pass legislation that ensures equal pay for women and minorities in the workforce. All five Democratic women spoke on the Senate floor in support of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009. The Senate is expected to hold a cloture vote on a motion to proceed to the Lilly Ledbetter Bill at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, January 15, 2009. The House passed the bill on Friday, January 9, 2009.
The Lilly Ledbetter Bill was written to remedy the 2007 Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. decision in which a divided Supreme Court held that workers must sue for pay discrimination within 180 days after the original pay-setting decision, no matter how long the unfair pay continues. Lower courts already have begun citing the ruling in decisions that erode civil rights.
Fifty-four Senators have co-sponsored the Lilly Ledbetter Bill, which amends Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 so that the statute of limitations runs from the date of the actual payment of a discriminatory wage, not just from the time of hiring. This means employees can seek a remedy based on each discriminating paycheck, not just during the first 180 days of pay discrimination.
