Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009

By Shelli Johnson

On Thursday January 29th, President Obama signed his first law, The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act, which extends the statute of limitation deadlines for alleged unequal pay lawsuits. Inspired by the Supreme Court case Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. in 2007, the new law says the 180-day statute of limitations for pay discrimination cases is applicable to each allegedly discriminatory paycheck, not merely the date when the pay was agreed upon. Lily Ledbetter worked for Goodyear Tire & Rubber for 19-years before realizing that she was being paid less than male counterparts at the company. She sued, but the Supreme Court decided her claim of discrimination came too late to be legally possible. Contractors should audit their compensation practices to ensure there is sufficient documentation supporting compensation decisions. Additionally, employers should analyze their compensation data, on an annual basis, to determine whether there are gender, race/ ethnicity based disparities. Contractors may also need to consider adjusting retention practices to maintain documentation for a longer period of time.