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House OKs Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act

January 28, 2009

The House approved the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act on Tuesday; the legislation will now go to President Barack Obama who is expected to sign it. The act will allow workers to sue for pay discrimination based on their most recent paycheck containing discriminatory pay rather than when the discrimination first began.

The bill stems from the case of Lilly Ledbetter, who worked for almost 20 years at a Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company facility in Alabama and found out she was being paid less than male workers just before retiring. Ledbetter sued for discrimination and a jury ruled in her favor. However, the Supreme Court ruled Ledbetter waited too long to sue. Although she sued within 180 days of receiving a discriminatory paycheck, she hadn't sued within 180 days of the company's decision to give her discriminatory pay. The Fair Pay Act changes this, and now sets the clock running whenever a discriminatory paycheck is received.