House Says Supreme Court Pay Ruling Wrong, Passes Ledbetter Fair Pay Bill

by Mike Hall, Jul 31, 2007

The House of Representatives said today that the Bush-dominated U.S. Supreme Court was wrong when it ruled that workers have no right to sue to remedy pay discrimination if they wait more than 180 days after their first short paycheck, even if workers don’t discover the pay discrimination until years later. 

By a 225-199 vote, the House passed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act that in effect overturns the court’s 5-4 decision. (See today’s earlier post for details on the bill.) President Bush has threatened to veto the bill.

Lilly Ledbetter worked for nearly two decades at a Goodyear tire plant in Alabama, and years into her career she discovered she was being paid less than men who were doing the same work. But even though a lower court jury ruled in her favor after she filed a pay-discrimination suit, the Supreme Court ruled in May that she waited too long to take legal action.    

Says AFL-CIO President John Sweeney:

Working people in America are one step closer to having their civil rights restored,  thanks to the House of Representatives passage of this important bill.

Lilly Ledbetter bravely stood up for herself and all victims of discrimination in the workplace when she filed discrimination charges against Goodyear Tire and Rubber for paying her substantially less than her male co-workers. In response to her fight for justice, the majority in the Supreme Court bent over backwards–ignoring both precedent and simple common sense–to rob her of her right to equal treatment in the workplace.    

Earlier this month, Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass) and a bipartisan group of 14 co-sponsors introduced the Senate version of the legislation, the Fair Pay Restoration Act. Action on that bill likely will take place following Congress’ August recess. 

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