Lilly Ledbetter and Equal Pay

As a society we claim a commitment to the proposition of equal pay for equal work. If two people do the same job they should get the same pay regardless of race, gender, religion or disability. If the US Senate acts responsibly President Obama will have an early opportunity to sign a bill that will restore the rights of workers to equal pay.

The Lilly Ledbetter act removes a loophole that has allowed widespread abuse of women and minorities in the workplace. The Supreme Court opened the employer-escape-hatch in May of 2007 when it ruled 5-4 against Lilly Ledbetter a former employee of the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company in Gadsden, Alabama.

Ms. Ledbetter had worked for 19 years making $6,500 less than her lowest paid male counterpart. The jury found that the disparity was based upon her sex and awarded her back pay and damages. The United States Supreme Court ruled that even though Ms. Ledbetter did not know of the disparity she waited to long to complain. http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/05-1074.ZO.html She could not recover because she did not file a claim within180 days of the first decision to pay her less.

The pending bill supports the notion that worker rights should not be forfeited before the worker can reasonably discover that she or he has been cheated. The bill recognizes that in the real world most employees are not privy to the wages of others. In balancing the interests of the employer engaged in wage discrimination against the underpaid worker the sponsors of the bill come down in favor of the worker.

Opponents of the law claim the bill will lead to more lawsuits. That objection favors the wrongdoer over the victim. Employers who want to avoid the inconvenience of a lawsuit should choose not to discriminate. There is also the financial incentive to consider. Should we reward those who chose to discriminate by allowing them to keep the wages they saved or should we make the employer compensate the employee? It will be interesting to see which Senators vote against the Lilly Ledbetter act and to logic check the reasons for their votes.