Legal Commentary

Obama Signs Ledbetter Act

By TChris

Making good on an important campaign promise, President Obama signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act today. The law overturns a Supreme Court decision that precluded victims of gender discrimination in pay from obtaining relief if they didn't know of the discriminatory pay differential within 180 days of the time their pay was set.

The McCain-Palin ticket, echoing the Republican Party as a whole and business lobbyists, insisted that the legislation would encourage frivolous litigation -- defined, in Republican-speak, as any litigation brought by an employee against an employer. It is to the president's credit that he made this legislation one of the first priorities of his administration.

Said President Obama:

It is fitting that with the very first bill I sign - the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act - we are upholding one of this nation's first principles: that we are all created equal and each deserve a chance to pursue our own version of happiness....

Because while this bill bears her name, Lilly knows this story isn't just about her. It's the story of women across this country still earning just 78 cents for every dollar men earn - women of color even less - which means that today, in the year 2009, countless women are still losing thousands of dollars in salary, income and retirement savings over the course of a lifetime.

But equal pay is by no means just a women's issue - it's a family issue. It's about parents who find themselves with less money for tuition or child care; couples who wind up with less to retire on; households where, when one breadwinner is paid less than she deserves, that's the difference between affording the mortgage - or not; between keeping the heat on, or paying the doctor's bills - or not. And in this economy, when so many folks are already working harder for less and struggling to get by, the last thing they can afford is losing part of each month's paycheck to simple discrimination.

So in signing this bill today, I intend to send a clear message: That making our economy work means making sure it works for everyone. That there are no second class citizens in our workplaces, and that it's not just unfair and illegal - but bad for business - to pay someone less because of their gender, age, race, ethnicity, religion or disability. And that justice isn't about some abstract legal theory, or footnote in a casebook - it's about how our laws affect the daily realities of people's lives: their ability to make a living and care for their families and achieve their goals. ...

And this is only the beginning. I know that if we stay focused, as Lilly did - and keep standing for what's right, as Lilly did - we will close that pay gap and ensure that our daughters have the same rights, the same chances, and the same freedom to pursue their dreams as our sons.

Gail Collins has a good column on "the feisty working women who went to court to demand their rights and the frequently underpaid lawyers who championed them."

Full post as published by TalkLeft on January 29, 2009 (boomark / email).