What is the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009?

Job applicants and employees have protections against employment discrimination on the basis of sex, race, ethnicity, and other protected characteristics or identity features, including pay-related discrimination, under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In other words, an employer cannot pay you less than another employee in the same role and with the same job responsibilities because of your sex or gender, your race, your ethnicity, and more. There are also other protections under state and federal law against pay-related discrimination on the basis of gender, age, disability, and more.

What, then, is the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, and to whom does it apply? Consider the following information from our South Florida employment discrimination attorneys.

History of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act

Lawmakers’ impetus for the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 was the outcome of the US Supreme Court case Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (2007), which “significantly impair[ed] statutory protections against discrimination in compensation that Congress established and that [had] been bedrock principles of American law for decades,” according to the legislators behind the Act.

That Court decision restricted the “time period in which victims of discrimination can challenge and recover for discriminatory compensation decisions or other practices.” As such, the Act sought to provide those protections anew. It was the first piece of legislation signed into law by then-President Obama in 2009.

What the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act Does 

The Act amended the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to define all of the following as unlawful employment practices:

• Discriminatory compensation decision or other practice adopted;
• Individual becomes subject to the decision or practice; or
• Individual is affected by the application of the decision or practice, including each time wages, benefits, or other compensation is paid.

The Act allows a claimant to seek back pay for up to two years prior to the date of the charge and provides that the statute of limitations (allowing an employee to file a claim) resets with each issued paycheck.

What the Act means for you as an employee is that you may be eligible to file a claim related to discriminatory pay as long as you do so within the 180-day period prior to a discriminatory paycheck being issued. Each new paycheck you receive, in which you allege your pay was based on a discriminatory practice, will reset the clock on the statute of limitations and you will be eligible to file a case. The Act applies specifically to discrimination in pay.

Contact Our Palm Beach Gardens Employment Discrimination Lawyers for Help with Your Wage Discrimination Claim 

Employees in South Florida are entitled to equal pay for equal work, and if you suspect your rights have been violated, you should find out more about filing a claim under state or federal law. There are numerous legal protections for job applicants and employees that prohibit employers from paying certain workers less than others on the basis of sex or gender, race, age, and more. If you believe you have been harmed by an employer’s discriminatory practices, do not hesitate to get in touch with one of the experienced Palm Beach Gardens employment discrimination attorneys at Sconzo Law Office to find out more about your options. Contact us today to get started on your pay discrimination case.

Source:

eeoc.gov/lilly-ledbetter-fair-pay-act-2009