Press Release - Leadership Conference on Civil Rights
LCCR Applauds Senate Passage of Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act
Statement of Leadership Conference on Civil Rights President Wade Henderson
For Immediate Release
Contact: Scott Westbrook Simpson, 202.466.2061, simpson@civilrights.org
January 22, 2009
"The Senate passage of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act assures Americans in these hard economic times that the rights of workers are critically important and protected.
Its passage also restores the legal precedent – undone by the Supreme Court's flawed reading of the law in Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company – that an employee suffers a new injury each and every time he or she receives a discriminatory paycheck.
The legislation is named for one woman but its protections will be felt by millions. To have left the high court ruling in place would have meant that all Americans, especially women, people of color, older Americans, and people with disabilities would have had a more difficult time proving pay discrimination in the workplace.
We are heartened that this legislation was such an early priority of the Congress and of the new administration, highlighting a return to the values and concerns of ordinary Americans around the issue of fairness.
We applaud Congress for its swift action and look forward to President Obama, who supported the legislation, quickly signing it into law."
