Support the Fair Pay Restoration Act (S. 1843)

Issues: Human & Civil Rights & Liberties ; Preserving Access to the Courts

The Fair Pay Restoration Act will restore critical civil rights protections for American workers lost as a result of the Supreme Court's recent controversial decision in Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber.  A similar bill (H.R. 2831) passed in the House earlier this year.  The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions held a hearing on the legislation in January, and Lilly Ledbetter was there to testify about the effects of the Supreme Court's decision.

In Ledbetter, the Supreme Court held that employees cannot challenge ongoing compensation discrimination if the employer's original discriminatory decision occurred more than 180 days before, even when the employee continues to receive paychecks that have been discriminatorily reduced.  The Ledbetter ruling undermines the Congressional goal of eliminating discrimination in the workplace, allows employers to benefit from discrimination, and ignores fundamental workplace realities.  In fact, the law under Ledbetter provides an incentive for employers to conceal, rather than correct, compensation discrimination. 

The Senate's consideration of this important legislation cannot come soon enough. Despite the fact that Ledbetter was decided less than eight months ago, more than 160 state and federal court cases have already cited the decision—with several leading to equally awful consequences. In one case, a man who served as a public school teacher for 37 years was denied a bonus that would have exponentially increased his pension because he retired one day too soon.  In another case, white police officers were denied the ability to challenge a city ordinance that specifically allowed an African-American officer to leave and later return to the police force without losing seniority while some officers lost credit for all of their prior years of service. In yet another case, a man was barred from bringing suit when his employer told him that he would not have the same promotion opportunities as female employees with less education and experience than he.

To repair the damage that Ledbetter has done to these claims and to prevent future injustices, Congress must work swiftly to pass the Fair Pay Restoration Act.

Take Action:
http://ga1.org/campaign/fair_pay_act_2007

Read AFJ Fact Sheet on Ledbetter:
Ledbetter Fact Sheet.pdf

Read Lilly Ledbetter's Testimony:
http://help.senate.gov/Hearings/2008_01_24/Ledbetter.pdf

AFJ Justice Watch Blog entries:
Fair Pay Restoration Act
Fair Pay Restoration Act Hearing Features Powerful Calls for Bill's Passage