An Act to help close the gap

On June 9, 2008 at Mind the Gap!: The Women, Wages and Work Policy Conference by the Center for Women in Politics & Public Policy (UMass Boston), I had the privilege of hearing, first-hand, the story of Lilly Ledbetter. Her story and subsequent Supreme Court case bought national attention to the issue of gender-based wage discrimination. I thought it amazing that this woman who, less than two weeks before the conference, had the Supreme Court rule that her claim of wage discrimination based on gender was past the statute of limitations for filing such lawsuits. Yet, there she was at the podium—eloquent and serene—continuing her advocacy efforts against wage discrimination.

Ms. Ledbetter’s plight, thankfully, did not fall on deaf ears.

Yesterday, January 29, 2009, President Obama signed his first bill: the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. This act will

“… provide legislative redress for a 2007 Supreme Court decision that made it extremely difficult for victims of pay discrimination to fight for their rights. The Supreme Court ruled, 5 to 4, that victims must file a suit against their employer within six months of the initial decision to discriminate - an unrealistic standard, given that many workers cannot know within that short timeframe that they are being treated unfairly. The Ledbetter Act would clarify the 1964 Civil Rights Act to state that employees have six months after their last discriminatory paycheck - that is, the last time they were paid unfairly based on a discriminatory decision - to file a suit.” (Source: Women Work! Legislative Bulletin)

Though the fight against wage discrimination is far from over, this is a great leap in the right direction.

Kirsten Blocker
Marketing & Communications Coordinator
Crittenton Women's Union