Obama signs 'Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act'

It's been a long haul for Lilly Ledbetter. But today, President Obama signed the Fair Pay Act into law that bears her name.

The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act is a response to a May 2007 Supreme Court ruling that made it tougher for employees to file pay discrimination claims.

This law will not go back and restore all those years of less pay for being a woman. Nor will it equalize her pension -- based on her lesser pay amounts -- even though Lilly was widowed in December and could probably use the extra money these days.

But it at least helps all the women to come behind her, and their families...and all the analogous civil rights cases to come. That is something enormous.

Gail Collins detailed some of the foremothers of women's workplace equality today. To her list, I'd add Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Ms. Ledbetter, a 19-year area manager for Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. in Gadsden, Ala., learned she was earning far less than male colleagues but could not pursue a case because, the justices ruled, the 180-day window to file a discrimination claim began with her hiring. The law amends the 1964 Civil Rights Act to allow for claims within 180 days of each paycheck considered discriminatory.
Vice President Joseph Biden greets Lilly Ledbetter as President Barack Obama leads her to the table before he signs the Lilly Ledbetter Bill, as a bipartisan group of Congress including Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), and Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) stand by, in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on January 29, 2009. (Katie Falkenberg / The Washington Times)

Ms. Ledbetter lost more than $200,000 in wages and benefits over her career, the president said.

Joining him were Ms. Ledbetter, first lady Michelle Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and congressional leaders. Mr. Obama signed the bill using several presidential pens, giving each to the congressional co-sponsors onstage. But he saved one for the law's namesake: "This one is for Lilly," he said, a line that earned a standing ovation.


Before putting his pen to the paper, Obama said:

"Lilly Ledbetter did not set out to be a trailblazer or a household name. She was just a good hard worker who did her job -- and she did it well -- for nearly two decades before discovering that for years, she was paid less than her male colleagues for doing the very same work. Over the course of her career, she lost more than $200,000 in salary, and even more in pension and Social Security benefits -- losses that she still feels today.

"Now, Lilly could have accepted her lot and moved on. She could have decided that it wasn't worth the hassle and the harassment that would inevitably come with speaking up for what she deserved. But instead, she decided that there was a principle at stake, something worth fighting for. So she set out on a journey that would take more than 10 years, take her all the way to the Supreme Court of the United States, and lead to this day and this bill which will help others get the justice she was denied. ...

"I intend to send a clear message: That making our economy work means making sure it works for everyone. That there are no second class citizens in our workplaces, and that it's not just unfair and illegal -- it's bad for business -- to pay someone less because of their gender, or their age, race, ethnicity, religion or disability."

President Barack Obama signs the Lilly Ledbetter Bill as a bipartisan group of Congress and Lilly Ledbetter stands behind, in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on January 29, 2009. (Katie Falkenberg / The Washington Times)

The measure passed the House 250-177 and the Senate 61-36.

The next significant piece of legislation that Congress is expected to send to Mr. Obama is a measure to expand the popular State Children's Heath Insurance Program, or SCHIP, for another 4 1/2 years.