The very first bill signed into law by President Obama last year was the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which overturned the U.S. Supreme Court’s Ledbetter decision and extended the time within which employees can file a Title VII pay discrimination claim. While it was vitally important to keep the courthouse doors open for women who have experienced pay discrimination, it is equally important that Congress now take action to prevent such discrimination from happening in the first place.
Just three weeks before enactment of the Ledbetter Act, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed the Paycheck Fairness Act, H.R. 12, S. 182, which would strengthen the Equal Pay Act by eliminating certain loopholes and amending outdated provisions that have prevented that act from fulfilling Congress’ intent to eliminate pay discrimination on the basis of sex. However, more than a year has gone by without any action by the Senate, and the time has come for it to finally pass this critical legislation, which was supported by the American Bar Association’s House of Delegates at its recent meeting in Orlando, Fla. Together with the Ledbetter Act, the Paycheck Fairness Act will create a climate in which pay discrimination is not tolerated and will provide women and the federal government with the necessary tools to make substantial progress on pay equity.
