President Obama Invites Congressman Andrews to Attend the Signing of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act

Today, Congressman Andrews met President Obama in the East Wing of the White House at the signing ceremony of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. Congressman Andrews, who was a leading advocate of the bill when it passed the House of Representatives esrlier this week, witnessed the signing that will rectify a Supreme Court ruling that hindered employment discrimination claims on the basis of race, sex, color, national origin, religion, age, or disability. Specifically, this legislation clarifies that every paycheck or other compensation resulting from an earlier discriminatory pay decision constitutes a violation of the Civil Rights Act.

The Supreme Court's decision in Ledbetter v. Goodyear ruled that employees must file their charges within 180 days of their employers' actual decision to provide discriminatory pay. Therefore, the period in which one may assert a claim is triggered by a discrete unlawful practice, often unrecognized by the victim until the charging period has expired. Thus, under Ledbetter v. Goodyear, discriminated employees were often forced to live with their unfair pay for the rest of their careers. The House has recognized the consequences of the Ledbetter decision and voted today to reverse this discriminatory practice. The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act grants that each and every discriminatory paycheck is a civil rights violation, thus expanding the period that one may assert a claim for employment discrimination.

"The President’s signature today is a rejection of the Supreme Court's ill-conceived Ledbetter decision and a restoration of an American worker's right to reasonably seek restitution against pay discrimination," said Rep. Robert Andrews (D-NJ), chairman of the Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions.

According to a New York Times report, the Ledbetter decision has already been cited in more than 300 discrimination cases, many of which were adversely impacted by this misguided ruling. While critics claim that this law will lead to a flood of litigation, this bill .

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