Jan 29, 2009

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President Obama Signs Lilly Ledbetter Act (Video)

This morning, President Obama signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act into law.   It was the first bill Obama has signed since taking office. 

Joining him at the signing ceremony were, among others, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, First Lady Michelle Obama, and Lilly Ledbetter herself, who is seen on the video receiving the signatory pen.

The law is intended to reverse the Supreme Court decision, also bearing Ledbetter’s name, that plaintiffs in discrimination cases must bring their claims within 180 days from the initial discriminatory act. Under the newly-signed revision, claimants have 180 days since the most recent discriminatory act. This difference means that employees like Ledbetter, who worked for years without knowing she was being paid unequally, have 180 days from their last paycheck to file suit.

A couple of important notes about the Ledbetter Act:

• It is not limited to gender discrimination. The law changes the filing limitations in all major antidiscrimination statutes, including the Americans with Disabilities and Age Discrimination in Employment Acts.
• It doesn’t change the amount a plaintiff can recover. That is still limited under most statutes to damages dating 2-years back from the date the claimant files a charge.
• The law is designed to be retroactive, applying to cases initiated anytime on or after May 28, 2007 (the day before the Supreme Court’s decision). What this means for the cases that have been dismissed in the interim, or for Ledbetter herself, in unclear. (Some have suggested that she wins nunc pro tunc. I’m not so sure.) Expect this point to be litigated agressively and soon.