Democrats on Capitol Hill and President-elect Barack Obama plan to take swift action to overturn a Supreme Court decision that made it more difficult for individuals to challenge discrimination in employment, housing, education and other fields.
Lilly M. Ledbetter was the woman at the center of the decision, which was issued in May 2007. She had accused her Alabama employer of sex-based pay discrimination. Subsequently, courts around the country have cited the decision—which limited lawsuits based on pay disparities—as precedence to go far beyond the facts of that case and have rejected numerous lawsuits claiming discrimination based on race, sex, age and disability. Many dissenters claim that the suit ignores certain workplace realities.
Ledbetter was a supervisor at a Goodyear Tire plant in Gadsden, Ala., and the only woman among 16 men at the same management level. She was paid less than any of her colleagues, including those with less seniority; but she learned that fact late in her 20-year career. According to the Supreme Court’s majority, she found out too late.
The court held that employees may not bring suit under the principal federal anti-discrimination law unless they have filed a formal complaint with a federal agency within 180 days after their pay was set. The timeline applies, according to the decision, even if the effects of the initial discriminatory act were not immediately apparent to the worker and even if they continue to the present day.
From 2001 to 2006, workers brought nearly 40,000 pay discrimination cases. Many such cases are likely to be barred by the court’s interpretation of the requirement in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that employees make their charge within 180 days “after the alleged unlawful employment practice occurred.”
For women and minorities, this ruling is especially problematic. If a person has been employed at a particular location for years without knowing that they have been receiving lower pay than their colleagues, they don’t have the legality to challenge unfair practices. Obama, as a senator, supported and was co-sponsor of a bill to overturn the Supreme Court’s decision, and has been a staunch supporter of Ledbetter. Ledbetter also campaigned for the president-elect throughout 2008.
In the last 19 months, federal judges have cited the Ledbetter decision in more than 300 cases—and not only involving Title VII, but also the Age Discrimination in Employment Act; the Fair Housing Act; a law known as Title IX, which bars sex discrimination in schools and colleges; and even the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution, which protects prisoners’ rights. – todd williams
