House Takes Aim At Unequal Pay

On Jan. 9, 2009, the U.S. House of Representatives passed two bills intended to reduce pay discrimination in the workplace: the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and the Paycheck Fairness Act, which passed by votes of 247-171 and 256-163, respectively. If enacted, this legislation would virtually eliminate the statute of limitations for pay discrimination claims, increase potential damages for employees, limit employer defenses, and expand class actions alleging unequal pay claims.

The Ledbetter bill is Congress' response to the U.S. Supreme Court's 2007 decision in Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., which held pay discrimination claims under Title VII are time-barred when plaintiffs fail to file charges with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission within 180 days (or 300 days in deferral states) of the discriminatory pay decision. The plaintiff, Lilly Ledbetter, filed an EEOC charge in July of 1998, as well as a federal lawsuit that November, alleging