WU VOTES TO RESTORE, PROTECT EQUAL PAY FOR EQUAL WORK

Press Release

WU VOTES TO RESTORE, PROTECT EQUAL PAY FOR EQUAL WORK

Congressman David Wu today voted in support of H.R. 2831, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. The legislation rectifies a recent Supreme Court decision that made it much harder for workers to pursue pay discrimination claims.

"Ms. Ledbetter bravely stood up for herself and for every worker in this country," Congressman Wu said. "Congress heard her voice and today rectified a great injustice. With this legislation we have shown every American worker that we value their work and believe in fairness."

On May 29, the Supreme Court issued a 5-4 decision, in Ledbetter v. Goodyear, that ignored a longstanding interpretation of the Civil Rights Act. The court held that a worker must file a charge of pay discrimination within 180 days of the employer's first decision to pay someone less for discriminatory reasons.

Following this decision, H.R. 2831 was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives and referred to the U.S. House Education and Labor Committee of which Congressman Wu is a member.

H.R. 2831 simply restores the longstanding interpretation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act - that each paycheck that results from a discriminatory decision is itself a discriminatory act that resets the clock on the 180-day period within which a worker must file. The committee debated and passed the legislation last week.

The legislation was necessary not only because the Supreme Court ignored precedent, but also because the decision ignored the realities of the workplace. Employees generally do not know enough about what their co-workers earn, or how pay decisions are made, to file a complaint precisely when discrimination first occurs.

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BACKGROUND: The case was sparked by Lilly Ledbetter, a supervisor at the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. in Gadsden, Ala., who sued the company six months before she retired in 1998 after 19 years of service.

Ledbetter had suspected for years that her male co-workers were being paid more, but she did not have proof until shortly before her retirement, when someone anonymously left documents in her work mailbox showing what she and three male managers earned. In 1997, Ledbetter was earning $3,700 a month, compared with her male colleagues who were earning $4,300 to $5,200.

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