Lilly Ledbetter worked for Goodyear for years before claiming that the company discriminated against her by paying her less than similarly situated male employees. She contended that each of her paychecks were a separate act of discrimination for which she was entitled to damages. Her argument was rejected and the Court held that employers are protected from lawsuits over race or gender pay discrimination if the claims are based on decisions made by the employer more than 180 days ago. Essentially, if an employee agrees to a certain pay in March and consistently receives that pay each pay period, she cannot sue in December for paychecks she received more the 180 days previous to her suit.
The Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which was co-sponsored by Obama when he was an Illinois Senator, would restart the statute of limitations every time a paycheck was received. Thus, an employee who agrees to a certain pay amount in March and consistently receives that pay each pay period could sue in December for what she agreed to in March, more than 180 days earlier.
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