what is the lilly ledbetter fair pay act 
the lilly ledbetter fair pay act of 2009 is a law enacted by congress to bolster worker protections against pay discrimination the act allows individuals facing pay discrimination to seek rectification under federal anti discrimination laws the law clarifies that discrimination based on age religion national origin race sex and disability will accrue every time the employee receives a paycheck that is deemed discriminatory it was the first bill president barack obama signed into law and is one of a number of federal laws designed to protect the rights of workers 1understanding the lilly ledbetter fair pay actthe lilly ledbetter fair pay act reinstated the protection against pay discrimination that had been removed by the supreme court in ledbetter v goodyear tire rubber co in 2007 it restored previous protections regarding the equal treatment of employees most notably title vii of the civil rights act of 1964 the 2009 statute clarified that any inequitable payment is unlawful even if it is the result of a pay decision made in the past 3the act is named in honor of lilly ledbetter a former manager at a goodyear tire rubber co plant in alabama after ledbetter discovered that her male peers were receiving substantially higher pay for similar roles she filed a complaint with the equal employment opportunity commission eeoc in 1998 ledbetter filed an equal pay lawsuit alleging pay discrimination on the basis of sex under title vii of the civil rights act of 1964 the trial jury awarded her back pay and more than 3 3 million in compensatory and punitive damages 4however the supreme court upheld a lower court ruling that said claims like ledbetter s had to be filed within 180 days of an employer s decision to pay a worker less even if the worker didn t learn about the unfair pay until much later 5 as a result ledbetter never collected any kind of settlement from goodyear the act is named in honor of lilly ledbetter who sued her employer goodyear tire rubber co for paying her substantially less than her male peers ledbetter won the lawsuit but then saw the decision get overturned the ruling and a dissenting opinion by justice ruth bader ginsburg in which she wrote once again the ball is in congress s court ignited activist groups who saw the court s decision as a setback for women and civil rights 6this led to the creation of a bill that bore ledbetter s name and gives employees the right to file suit 180 days after the last pay violation and not only 180 days after the initial pay disparity in effect each paycheck restarts the 180 day countdown to file a claim 2if you believe you are being paid less than your co workers because of your race color religion sex national origin age or disability you can file a complaint with the eeoc the complaint process is explained on the agency s website 7pay discrimination in 2024one documented area of pay discrimination is the pay gap between men and women in 2022 women s annual earnings were 84 of men s according to data published by the u s census bureau 8women of color are even more discriminated against black latina and native american women are paid 64 55 and 59 respectively what non hispanic white men are paid 910although the slogan equal pay for equal work dates back to the 1860s congress didn t take major action to address the gender wage gap until the passage of the equal pay act in 1963 11many experts believe that the practice of prospective employers asking job candidates about salary history furthers discrimination and the pay gap in recent years a growing number of states and municipalities have addressed this issue as of august 2023 22 states have adopted measures that prohibit some employers from asking about salary history 12prohibiting employers from asking about salary history seems to work according to a study authored by economists at the boston university school of law women s pay rises 8 to 9 under salary history bans while the pay of black workers increases 13 to 16 13