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CCH® PAYROLL — 8/9/07

House passes Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act

The House passed a bill that would overturn a recent Supreme Court decision that limits the timeframe workers have to file employment discrimination claims. Despite a veto threat, the House approved the bill—the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act (2831)—along party lines by a 225-199 vote on July 31.

“With this vote, the House reaffirmed its commitment to America’s promise of fair and equal treatment for all people, and repudiated the Supreme Court’s ruling that made it easier for employers to discriminate against their workers,” said Rep. George Miller, the bill’s sponsor and chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee. “The Supreme Court has tried to roll back the clock on this issue of basic fairness, but Congress will not stand for it,” Miller said.

Statute of limitations at issue

The court ruled earlier this year that an employee must bring a Title VII disparate-pay claim that alleges discrimination within 180 days of an employer’s decision to pay the employee less. The legislation would amend Title VII, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act to specify that discriminatory pay decisions or other discriminatory practices under the Acts that start the 180-day time period for filing a charge of discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)—or 300-day period if the charge also is covered by a state or local law—occur each time a discriminatory paycheck is issued.

President threatens veto

The Bush administration has threatened to veto the bill if it reaches the president’s desk, claiming that it would effectively eliminate the statute of limitations for pay discrimination and other employment-related claims. House Republicans echoed that claim during the House debate on the bill. “Without a statute of limitations in place, an employee could sue for pay discrimination resulting from an alleged discriminatory act that might have occurred 5, 10, 20, or even 30 or more years earlier,” Rep. Buck McKeon, said. Quoting the court’s decision, Rep. Ric Keller, warned that the passage of time diminishes a court’s ability to determine the facts of a case.

Democrats countered that the bill simply restores the law as interpreted prior to the court’s decision. “This is a restoration of the statute of limitations, not the elimination of it,” said Rep. Robert Andrews. To rebut claims that the legislation would lead to an increase in the number of cases filed, Democrats cited the Congressional Budget Office’s conclusion that the bill would not significantly affect the number of discrimination claims.

The case that spurred the legislation involved Lilly Ledbetter, who worked for nearly 20 years at an Alabama Goodyear facility. After learning she was paid less than her male coworkers, Ledbetter filed a discrimination claim. But the Supreme Court ruled Ledbetter waited too long to make her claim, even though she filed a charge with the EEOC as soon as she learned of the pay discrimination and within 180 days of receiving a paycheck.

Ledbetter said in a statement before the House vote, “If Congress passes H.R. 2831, I would feel that my long fight through the courts was worthwhile, because it would mean that other workers who find themselves the target of pay discrimination would be able to seek and get justice.” The bill would apply to all covered claims pending on or after that May 28, the day before the Supreme Court issued its decision.

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