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Managing America: Labor

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Week Ending August 3, 2007

H.R.2831 Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2007

Under current law, created by Congress, claimants have 180 days from the date of the alleged discriminatory act to file a complaint of discrimination. In  a 2007 case the Supreme Court ruled that the pay discrimination begins when the company being sued, Goodyear, began the process of paying the claimant, a female, less than her male counterpart.

The Complainant, Lilly Ledbetter, filed her complaint of pay discrimination on the basis of gender, years later after she found out she was being paid considerably less than her male colleagues doing the same job.

Under this bill, the law would be changed to allow that claimants have 180 days to file starting with each paycheck based on the belief that each paycheck represents a discriminatory act.

The bill would also establish that the claimant would be eligible for up to two years back pay not the 180 days that the court decision implied.

Sponsor:  Rep. George Miller (D-CA-)

Vote: Passed House 225 to 199 RC 768 July 31, 2007

Cost to the taxpayers: CBO expects that the bill would not significantly affect the number of filings with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Based on information from that agency, CBO estimates the H.R. 2831 would not significantly increase costs to the EEOC or to the federal courts over the 2008-2012 period.

Earmark Certification:   H.R. 2831 does not contain any congressional earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined in clause 9(d), 9(e) or 9(f) of rule XXI.

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MORE INFORMATION

Congress finds the following:

(1) The Supreme Court in Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., No. 05-1074 (May 29, 2007), significantly impairs statutory protections against discrimination in compensation that Congress established and that have been bedrock principles of American law for decades. The Ledbetter decision undermines those statutory protections by unduly restricting the time period in which victims of discrimination can challenge and recover for discriminatory compensation decisions or other practices, contrary to the intent of Congress.

(2) The limitation imposed by the Court on the filing of discriminatory compensation claims ignores the reality of wage discrimination and is at odds with the robust application of the civil rights laws that Congress intended.

(3) With regard to any charges of discrimination under any law, nothing in this Act is intended to preclude or limit an aggrieved person's right to introduce evidence of unlawful employment practices that have occurred outside the time for filing a charge of discrimination.

(4) This Act is not intended to change current law treatment of when pension distributions are considered paid.

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