The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, how it came about and how you can support Ms. Ledbetter

[Joesunionreview]

Full version with Video's at Joe's
http://anti-union.blogspot.com/2009/02/video-making-of-lilly-ledbetter-fair.html

The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, how it came about and how you can support Ms. Ledbetter

“Employers will now be held accountable for each discriminatorily reduced paycheck, because every time pay is unfairly lowered, it’s a violation of the law and fundamental fairness.”-Marcia D. Greenberger, Co-President of the National Women’s Law Center.

Video from February 3rd., 2007
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zsmla9CrtYc

On Jan. 29, 2009, President Obama signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act into law. In doing so, the bill reestablishes the law’s incentive for employers to correct discriminatory pay practices. Employers will no longer have a free pass to continue to discriminate against their employees without ever having to worry about being held accountable. At the same time, plaintiffs still can recover back pay only for a period of no more than two years before they challenge the discrimination. From The National Womans Law Center http://www.nwlc.org/fairpay/:

President Obama signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act into law today, reversing the Supreme Court’s 5-4 ruling in 2007 and restoring the ability of victims of wage discrimination to hold their employers accountable for injustice and challenge the practice in court.

“This is truly a monumental achievement for women – and all workers. The Supreme Court stripped workers of their ability to fight wage discrimination but now a new President and Congress have stepped in and restored their basic legal rights,” said Marcia D. Greenberger, Co-President of the National Women’s Law Center. “Employers will now be held accountable for each discriminatorily reduced paycheck, because every time pay is unfairly lowered, it’s a violation of the law and fundamental fairness.”

The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act restores the law that existed for decades in virtually every region of the country prior to the Supreme Court decision in Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. and makes it clear that each discriminatory paycheck is a new act of discrimination that resets the 180-day limit to file a claim.

The story of Lilly Ledbetter
Video from July 2007 click below
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhSFttshcPk

How the Supreme Court created this mess, excerpted from Save The Court:

# Lilly Ledbetter received an anonymous tip late in her career with Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. that she had been consistently paid much less than her male coworkers.
# She sued under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which protects workers against pay discrimination.
# She proved her case. A federal jury awarded her back pay and punitive damages, but Goodyear appealed.
# The case went all the way to the Supreme Court, which ruled against her 5-4 in Ledbetter v. Goodyear.
# The Court's ruling, written by right-wing Justice Samuel Alito, said that Lilly should have filed a complaint within 180 days of the time her supervisors gave her discriminatory evaluations that resulted in her being paid less than her male coworkers.
# The Court rejected a longstanding interpretation of the law that gave workers 180 days to file a complaint after receiving any discriminatory paycheck, regardless of when the discrimination began.

Tell Goodyear to pay up - Sign The Petition
Sign the petition urging Goodyear tire to pay Lilly what she was awarded
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/pay-lilly-ledbetter-what-she-is-owed

The Ledbetter law, recently signed by President Obama, overturned the Supreme Court decision denying Lilly the $360,000 of back pay and benefits that the trial court had ruled she was entitled to. But the newly signed law isn't retroactive; it only applies to cases going forward!

Ms. Ledbetter, now in her 70s, worked in a Goodyear Tire factory for almost 20 years to support her family. The success of the Lilly Ledbetter Act is a step forward in gender equality for all women, but as a new widow facing retirement, Lilly Ledbetter deserves to receive the pay she was cheated out of for so long!

Ask Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company - a company that reported profits of $602 million in 2007 - to reimburse the $360,000 of back pay they owe Lilly.

Click image below to sign the petition
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/pay-lilly-ledbetter-what-she-is-owed">