Jan 29 2009
Obama Signs His First Bill
President Obama signed his first piece of legislation into law today. It was the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, which will increase workers ability to sue for past pay discrimination. Woo hoo!
I have to say, finally. The fact that women have been discriminated against when it came to equal pay for an equal job is not new. Laws have been brought before the legislative bodies before but were always twisted in ways that never helped women. This new law effectively nullifies a 2007 Supreme Court decision that said workers had only 180 days to file a pay-discrimination lawsuit.
Lily Ledbetter sued Goodyear after she discovered she was not receiving the same amount in her paycheck as the men who did the same job she did. The Supreme Court said she was not due compensation because she missed the deadline. The law that was signed today makes it easier for workers to sue for decades-old discrimination. Under the new bill, given final passage in Congress this week, every new discriminatory paycheck would extend the statute of limitations for another 180 days. The bill does not change current law limiting back pay for claimants to two years.
In all fairness, Congress attempted to update the law to extend the time, but the Bush White House and Senate Republicans blocked the legislation in the last session of Congress.
Do you think this will bring more lawsuits into our courtrooms? Will this make a difference in our workplaces? Will employers be able to get around paying women the same?
11 Responses to “Obama Signs His First Bill”
With my sister’s situation she was owed vacation pay that she never got and the management kept saying that they were going to find out why she never got it. Well they just kept passing time until it was too late for her to get legal help. Maybe they should pass this law in Canada as well.
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That is just awful. I don’t know how some people sleep at night knowing they have ripped someone off.
Our legal system doesn’t need anymore lawsuits, so hopefully it will prevent employers from discriminating as we move forward.
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In Greece, many employers dont hire young women because they are afraid of the strict laws that protect the mothers and pregnants so the goverment is working on this!
I remember a tv ad from the 70s where Batgirl comes to save batman and robin but she leaves them tied up and leaves because she wasn’t getting equal pay for equal work.
TheSnackHound´s last blog post..Own a Magical Apple
I used to work for a national retailer. When I found out they were paying a male 10,000 more to do the same job and I had more experience, I asked them what was up. They offered me 1700 more. I said no… and left the company. 4 years later I get a call about every 6 months asking me to come back. They still won’t pony up. It was probably my favorite job ever. I never thought of suing. I am just not a litigious person.
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I think this was a good bill for Obama to sign early on. Equality is a good message. It’s set up more fair now. I’ve been fortunate to not experience this situation in my career but I know it exists in many places.
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Every little change in the right direction helps – and makes a difference. Most people would choose quick-fixes but long-term solutions tend to be better.
More law suits? – I hope not.
More responsible/caring employers? – I hope so!
Just another step in the wrong direction for the growing entitlement generation. I’m not saying there aren’t some cases where discrimination does occur, I’m just tired of people being able to blame all their problems on others, and this certainly isn’t going to help that.
other step in wrong direction for the growing entitlement generation i am just tired of those people being able to blame all their problem on others thanks for sharing this
Yeah, I would agree with amrita. While I dont think its right that some women may not have been payed fairly, this is gonna just open the flood gates to a lot of lawsuits, some deserving and some probably undeserving.