Lilly Ledbetter “Equal Pay for Equal Work” Verdict
In January 2009, Congress passed and President Obama signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act into law.
Though the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Goodyear in the Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. case, Lilly Ledbetter‘s effort to be paid the same as men doing equivalent jobs yielded new protections for American workers.
This clip, hosted by actor Bradley Whitford, tells her story.
Lilly Ledbetter began work at the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. in Gadsden, Alabama on February 5, 1979. After 16 years of employment with the company, she received an anonymous tip: men at the factory doing the same job as she was were being paid more.
By 1997, when she learned about the pay difference, Lilly Ledbetter made $44,700 a year. Men doing the same work made as much as 25% more.
While local courts ruled in Ledbetter‘s favor, Goodyear appealed, and the case made its way all the way to the Supreme Court. Judge Alito delivered the Court‘s decision, stating that according to Title VII, discriminatory intent must take place within 180 days of being alleged Â? meaning only Ledbetter‘s recent-most paycheck was in play, and whether or not she was being discriminated against would need to be proved based on that alone.
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg dissented, and read her statement from the bench, joined by justices Stevens, Souter, and Breyer. She concluded that the 180-day limit shouldn‘t be applied, that discrimination happens in pieces, over time.
In the wake of Lilly Ledbetter‘s case, Democratic members of Congress introduced the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which revised the law to state that if discrimination is taking place, pertinent acts of discrimination outside of the 180-day limit for pay discrimination may be included in the clam.
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