by Arlene Brens, Fellow
National Women’s Law Center
Lilly Ledbetter testified Tuesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee’s hearing on Barriers to Justice: Examining Equal Pay for Equal Work. Prior to the hearing, I had come to envision Lilly Ledbetter as the face of “equal pay,” and boy, is she ever. Her testimony was extraordinarily compelling. She has raised America’s consciousness about continued sex-based wage disparities and has brought the equal pay issue back to the forefront of civil rights. Even more, she has helped us to see that equal pay is not just a women’s issue, but a family issue we cannot afford to ignore.
In stark contrast to my reaction to Lilly’s testimony, I was disappointed by the statements of Lawrence Lorber, a partner in the law firm of Proskauer Rose LLP. Lorber mischaracterized the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act as giving plaintiffs an unlimited amount of time in which to bring an employment discrimination action. In fact, the bill just restores the law that the Supreme Court overturned by allowing plaintiffs to challenge each discriminatory paycheck they receive. Moreover, it is simply false to suggest that employees have an incentive to delay filing discrimination claims. Most employees can’t afford to give up a day’s, much less many years’ pay. Those who suggest otherwise are just not living in the real world.
What gives me hope in this struggle for equal pay is that we have a modern-day heroine like Lilly Ledbetter to speak for us. Besides Lilly would be disappointed if I gave up – she’s fighting for us everyday, even though she won’t ever get a dime from Goodyear.
Congress needs to pass the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. But in the meantime, I plan to follow Lilly’s own example and pull the Goodyear tires off my car.
Lilly Ledbetter’s full testimony can be found here.
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