Procedural Maneuvering Derails Ledbetter Fair Pay Act
Feature Story by Tyler Lewis - 4/23/2008
A key bill that will restore the rights of average Americans to sue for pay discrimination was blocked from debate in the Senate.
“Today’s cloture vote on the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act is not fair. There is no excuse to let companies get away with purposely lightening paychecks because of a worker’s gender, race or age,” said Wade Henderson, president and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights.
The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act will amend Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and other laws to allow workers to file a claim of pay discrimination within 180 days after their last discriminatory paycheck.
Opponents claim the bill is unnecessary and will open companies up to a flood of lawsuits. However, civil rights groups point out that the bill is actually modest because it just restores a previous interpretation of Title VII.
The bill is a direct response to the May 30, 2007 Supreme Court decision in Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, which said the 180-day statute of limitations on pay discrimination claims starts from the original discriminatory pay decision and does not reset with each subsequent paycheck. Under this new interpretation, women, minorities, older Americans, and people with disabilities will have a more difficult time proving pay discrimination in the workplace.
The controversial Ledbetter decision ignited a firestorm of criticism, particularly from civil rights groups who argued that it might actually increase wage discrimination. The House responded to the decision quickly, passing their version of the bill in July.
Forty-two senators used a procedural vote to block the bill from debate. Only 34 votes are needed to block debate on a bill in the Senate, although debate could continue if 60 senators vote to remove the block.
Civil rights groups say that because a majority of senators (57) did vote for the bill to go to the floor, the Senate should bring it back for a vote.
“Republican leaders may have blocked consideration today but this issue will not go away…The Senate must continue to consider the bill until it passes. Too much is at stake,” said Henderson.
