Ledbetter - Is Law

On May 29, 2007 the U.S. Supreme Court held in a 5-4 decision in Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., Inc. that a plaintiff must file an EEOC charge within the statutory time period after an alleged discriminatory pay decision is made and communicated to the employee. The charge would be considered untimely if the discriminatory acts occurred outside of the charging period even if the result was continuing unequal pay in later pay checks.

Congress now has passed law to amend title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, and to modify the operation of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, to clarify that a discriminatory compensation decision or other practice that is unlawful under such Acts occurs each time compensation is paid pursuant to the discriminatory compensation decision or other practice, and for other purposes.

The Act may be cited as the `Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009'.


Congress found that “the Supreme Court in Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., 550 U.S. 618 (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.

And that 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.

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

Congress also specified that : “Nothing in this Act is intended to change current law treatment of when pension distributions are considered paid."

To achieve its stated purposes, Congress then amended Section 706(e) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e-5(e) and wrote that in addition to any relief authorized by 42 U.S.C. 1981a, liability may accrue and an aggrieved person may obtain relief as provided in the amended statute including recovery of back pay for up to two years preceding the filing of the charge, where the unlawful employment practices that have occurred during the charge filing period are similar or related to unlawful employment practices with regard to discrimination in compensation that occurred outside the time for filing a charge.

This timeliness provision is significant, will impact numerous cases of discrimination, and specifically addresses the impact of the Supreme Court’s holding in Ledbetter. By amending also 42 U.S.C. 2000e-16 and 29 U.S.C. 633a, Congress further applied the Ledbetter Act to federal employee complaints of discrimination in compensation.

More details from the Act are at http://federal-employment.net at the Ledbetter Act 2009 link.

Bill Aramony at billcfr@earthlink.net

This comment is NOT legal advice. It is discussion and general impressions for educational purposes. See an attorney for legal advice.