Schakowsky Statement on Passage of Lilly Ledbetter Bill

SCHAKOWSKY STATEMENT ON PASSAGE OF LILLY LEDBETTER BILL

Washington, D.C.–U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), the Democratic Co-Chair of the Congressional Caucus on Women's Issues, released the following statement today after the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act again by a vote of 250 to 177. The Ledbetter bill will now be sent to the President's desk for his signature later this week.

"Today's vote is a huge victory for every woman in America. Under the Ledbetter bill, companies will no longer be able to run out the clock or suppress information to avoid paying women equally,... said U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL). "I am proud that the Democratic-led Congress under the leadership of the first woman Speaker made passing this bill a top priority and that we finally have a President that has put women's issues at the forefront of his agenda. I am looking forward to joining President Obama for his first bill signing when he signs the Ledbetter bill into law on Thursday morning....

In 2007, the Supreme Court ruled that Lilly Ledbetter waited too long to sue her employer for pay discrimination, despite the fact that the discrimination was ongoing and that she had filed a charge with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission as soon as she found out about the pay discrimination. The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act restores the law as it was prior to the Supreme Court's decision by clarifying that each paycheck resulting from discriminatory pay decision would constitute a new violation of employment nondiscrimination law, and therefore, restart the clock for filing a claim.