Yesterday I wrote about last week's Senate passage of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which would remove the requirement that pay discrimination be challenged within 180 days of when it first starts.
Well, the House of Representatives followed up quickly and passed the bill yesterday.
I hear that President Obama is on board with this. No surprise. As he said at the 2008 Democratic National Convention, "I want my daughters to have the same exact opportunities as your sons." This will likely be the first piece of legislation that he signs into law
And this will be a good step forward for pay equality for women and minorities.
Although some people (like Lilly Ledbetter) may not learn that they are victims of pay discrimination until several years into their employment, the existing rules provide no legal recourse past the first 180 days after the very first discriminatory paycheck was issued. It's not fair that they can't challenge the discrimination just because they're not mind readers and weren't aware of it early enough.
Once the Ledbetter Act takes effect, however, the unfair pay won't have to be recognized within any specific statute of limitations. Each discriminatory paycheck will be an actionable violation of this law.
As it should be.
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