Congressman Gregory Meeks Votes For Senate Passed Lilly Ledbetter Bill (S.181)

(WASHINGTON, DC)–Today, Congressman Gregory Meeks voted for the legislation S.181, the Lilly Ledbetter Bill that intends to ensure that equal pay discrimination will come to an end and will reverse the Supreme Court decision that has kept women from pursuing pay discrimination claims. Now that the House has passed the last component of the bill, the bill will now go to President Obama and will likely be the first major piece of legislation that he signs into law.

The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act will clarify that each discriminatory paycheck or compensation constitutes a violation of the Civil Rights Act. Before the bill, as long as workers file their charges within 180 days of a discriminatory paycheck, their charges would be considered timely. This was the law prior to the Supreme Court’s May 2007 decision. The Ledbetter decision has already been cited in hundreds of discrimination cases. Not only have pay discrimination cases been adversely impacted, but protections guaranteed by the Fair Housing Act, Title IX, and the Eight Amendment have also been affected.

Lilly Ledbetter worked for nearly 20 years at a Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. She sued the company after learning that she was paid less than her male counterparts at the facility, despite having more experience than several of them. A jury found that her employer had unlawfully discriminated against her on the basis of sex. The Supreme Court conclude, however, that Ledbetter had waited too long to sue for pay discrimination, despite the fact that she filed a charge with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission as soon as she received an anonymous note alerting her to pay discrimination.

Ledbetter filed her charge within 180 days of receiving discriminatory pay; the court ruled that, since Ledbetter did not raise a claim within 180 days of the employer’s decision to pay her less, she could not receive any relief. Under this Supreme Court decision, employees in Ledbetter’s position would be forced to live with discriminatory paychecks for the rest of their careers.

“This bill will ensure that pay discrimination will not be tolerated and that all employees will be subjected to what they deserve. Ledbetter and others like her who have suffered pay discrimination based on their gender, race, national origin, religion, age or disability have my utmost sympathy and regards for what they have endured. My colleagues and I will not stand for this and will do everything in our power to make sure the components of this bill are carried out to its fullest,” stated Congressman Gregory Meeks.

Now serving in his sixth full-term, Meeks was elected to the House on February 3, 1998. Representing New York's Sixth Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives, Meeks' district covers all towns of Southeast Queens, Far Rockaway and Howard Beach. He is a member of the House Committee on Financial Services and the Committee on Foreign Affairs. Meeks became Chairman of the International Monetary Policy Subcommittee in 2009 under the House Financial Services Committee. Meeks is a Member of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), New Democrats Caucus and the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC). He serves as the Co-chair of the Malaysia Caucus, Services Caucus, Dialogue Caucus and the Middle East Economic Partnership Caucus.