Democrats Will Try to Counter Ruling on Discrimination (equal-pay ) Suits

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/13/washington/13ledbetter.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&ref=washington&adxnnlx=1184332718-6RsxB3grEvW3QKDnuASHRg&pagewanted=print&oref=slogin

July 13, 2007
Democrats Will Try to Counter Ruling on Discrimination Suits
By JACQUELINE PALANK

WASHINGTON, July 12 — A Supreme Court decision restricting workers’ ability to sue for wage discrimination has prompted Democrats to introduce legislation to counteract the ruling.

In May, the Supreme Court ruled 5 to 4 against a supervisor at a Goodyear tire plant in Alabama who discovered, after working there for nearly 20 years, that her male colleagues, including those with less experience, had been receiving higher salaries. Most courts had ruled that each unfair paycheck was a new act of discrimination, effectively a new opportunity for an employee to sue. But the justices said that the clock started running out the first time a worker was paid unfairly and that therefore, the plaintiff, Lilly M. Ledbetter, had waited too long to file suit.

The main federal antidiscrimination law, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, says that employees must make their charge of employment discrimination within 180 days after the alleged unlawful practice occurred.

Almost immediately after the Supreme Court ruled, several Democratic lawmakers promised to pass legislation to override the decision. Representative George Miller, Democrat of California and chairman of the Committee on Education and Labor, sponsored the House’s version of the bill, which the committee approved at the end of June and expects to send to the full House soon.

Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts and chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, plans to introduce a similar bill, whose details are still being worked out.

“The rules for filing equal-pay claims should reflect basic fairness,” Mr. Kennedy said in a statement.

FULL story at link.

[dajoki]

1. Great, I hope they continue...

to challenge this Court's rulings. SCOTUS has turned back the clock on all our rights.