Senate Passes Ledbetter Fair Pay Act
Last night, the U.S. Senate passed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 by a vote of 61-36. President Obama is expected to sign the bill.
What’s the Ledbetter Act all about? Click here to read the entire Act. Here’s what the new White House web site says about it:
Fighting for Pay Equity: Despite decades of progress, women still make only 77 cents for every dollar a man makes. Throughout their careers, President Obama and Vice President Biden have championed the right of women to receive equal pay for equal work. In the Illinois State Senate, President Obama cosponsored and voted for the Illinois Equal Pay Act, which provided 330,000 more women protection from pay discrimination. In the U.S. Senate, Obama joined a bipartisan group of Senators to introduce the Fair Pay Restoration Act, a bill to overturn the Supreme Court’s recent 5-4 decision in Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company. The bill will restore the clear intent of Congress that workers must have a reasonable time to file a pay discrimination claim after they become victims of discriminatory compensation. The President was also a cosponsor of Senator Tom Harkin’s (D-IA) Fair Pay Act, and President Obama will continue to promote paycheck equity and close the wage gap between men and women.
So, what does this mean? In short, the Act lengthens the statute of limitations for filing unfair pay claims. It’s intended to “clarify that a discriminatory compensation decision or other practice that is unlawful” under Title VII, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) or the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 occurs “each time compensation is paid pursuant to the discriminatory compensation decision or other practice.”
When does it take effect? Interestingly, the Act is retroactive to May 28, 2007 (the day before the Supreme Court issued the Ledbetter decision). That means that it applies to all claims made on or after that date.
What should employers do? It’s now even more important to ensure that your company’s pay practices are fair and consistent. Review your policies and procedures and train your managers to help make that happen.
(Special thanks to Dan Schwartz of the Connecticut Employment Law Blog. If you have operations in Connecticut, I highly recommend visiting his site on a daily — if not hourly — basis.)