By snoadmin
Our new president has been compared to President John F. Kennedy on several occasions. The first bill Barack Obama signed can be chalked up as yet another similarity.
The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act was signed into law on Thursday giving workers the right to sue in discriminatory cases and giving them more time to do it.
Lilly Ledbetter was a supervisor at a Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company plant in Gadsden, Ala. On her way to retirement, after practically two decades of work, Ledbetter learned she was being paid considerably less than her male counterparts.
She sued and won, but the Supreme Court overturned her case in 2007. The court used a statute of limitations clause to rationalize the decision. Because Ledbetter did not file her claim within 180 days from the day she began being paid less, her right to equal treatment was denied.
In 1963 JFK promoted equal rights in education, employment and all other social situations, regardless of race, gender, disability or religion or national origin. A year later, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Subsequently, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission was created to ensure discrimination would be no more. The EEOC is where Ledbetter went in 1998 when she learned male co-workers were making $1,000 per month more than her.
But justice could not be realized for Ledbetter because of a timing glitch. Because she did not find out about the horrible practices of her employers earlier, she received no compensation.
Once something is deemed wrong it is always wrong. For years the tire company committed acts that directly violated civil rights laws and nothing was done.
Obama closed this legal loophole by changing the statute of limitations to extend six months after the worker receives a paycheck. Essentially, workers now have up to six months after the last discriminatory paycheck is delivered to act legally. Unfortunately, the change won’t help Ledbetter receive any compensation from Goodyear.
In a perfect world, all violations of the law would be corrected and compensated despite a statute of limitations, but this world isn’t perfect. What we are hopeful for is a further strengthening of individual rights and existing laws to come out of this new administration.
It is refreshing to witness a fast moving administration dedicated to the ideals this country embraces. Mr. Bush and friends represented the polar opposite of what this bill stands for. In fact, Congress tried to pass a law that would have overturned the Supreme Court ruling, but the Bush White House was against it.
Lilly Ledbetter was present at the signing of the bill named after her. Though she will never be reimbursed for her years of unequal pay, the 70-year-old grandmother says she is enjoying a sense of personal satisfaction, according to The New York Times.
As he signed his name to his first legislation, Obama spoke directly to all of us. This is a reminder that even though we elected the first black president we have a continuing duty to protect the rights of all Americans.
The glass ceiling has an opening — let’s shatter it.
