Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2007

LILLY LEDBETTER FAIR PAY ACT OF 2007 -- (House of Representatives - July 31, 2007)

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Mr. HARE. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and commend my Chairman, Mr. MILLER for his efforts to bring this legislation forward. The Supreme Court's decision in Ledbetter versus Goodyear was a setback for fundamental equal rights. As a Member of the Education and Labor Committee I am pleased that the House is standing up today for America's workers by essentially invalidating this misguided ruling.

Mrs. Ledbetter's pay discrimination case was dismissed--not because she was not being discriminated against--but because the Supreme Court believed she filed her claim too late.

Under this decision, employees in Ledbetter's position are forced to live with discriminatory paychecks for the rest of their careers. Moreover, the Court's decision ignores the realities of the workplace--where employees generally do not know enough about what their co-workers earn or how decisions regarding pay are' made to file a complaint precisely when discrimination first occurs.

The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act would clarify that every paycheck resulting from a discriminatory pay decision constitutes a violation of the Civil Rights Act.

When the Supreme Court sanctions discrimination through technicalities or misinterpretation, it is the job of Congress to clarify the intent of the law. We start this process today by passing the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. I urge all my colleagues to vote for H.R. 2831.

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