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Obama Signs Fair Pay Law

January 30, 2009

With the first stroke of his executive pen, President Obama Thursday signed a piece of legislation that was a decade in the making, creating an easier path for women to challenge pay discrimination in the workplace.

“It is fitting that with the very first bill I sign – the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act – we are upholding one of this nation's first principles: that we are all created equal and each deserve a chance to pursue our own version of happiness,” Obama said at the bill-signing ceremony Jan. 29.

Lilly Ledbetter, a former supervisor for Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., sued for pay discrimination in 1998 when she discovered that men in her shop received larger raises for performing comparable work. Her case eventually made its way to the Supreme Court in 2007 but was struck down in a 5-4 ruling. Justices said that Ledbetter’s suit came too late, as her complaint was issued after the 180-day window for filing such a claim had closed.

Congressional Democrats pushed for a law in 2007 to overturn the ruling, but Republicans blocked the measure. Lawmakers resurrected the act this session, passing the vote 250-177 in the House and 61-36 in the Senate.

The new law amends Title VII of the Civil Rights act of 1964, allowing for victims of unfair pay to challenge their employer’s actions with each unequal paycheck – not just during the first 180 days of pay discrimination, as the law previously stipulated.

“Especially in these economically perilous times, it is unconscionable for women and their families to be left without core legal protections necessary to secure equal pay,” said Marcia D. Greenberg, co-president of the National Women’s Law Center.

When the bill sailed through the Senate January 22, the vote cleanly broke down over political and gender lines. All present Democrats and all female Republicans voted for the bill, while the only opponents were male Republicans – with the lone exception of Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) who voted for the measure. In the House, the new law drew support from only three Republicans – all male.

On average, women still make 78 cents for every dollar a man makes. Obama addressed this inequality and stated his continued support for wage parity.

“This bill is an important step – a simple fix to ensure fundamental fairness to American workers … and this is only the beginning,” Obama said. “I know that if we stay focused, as Lilly did – and keep standing for what's right, as Lilly did – we will close that pay gap and ensure that our daughters have the same rights, the same chances, and the same freedom to pursue their dreams as our sons.”

To watch Obama’s statements, click here.

Photo used under a Creative Commons license from Flickr user aflcio2008.