First Obama legislation ensures fair pay

“I intend to send a clear message…That there are no second class citizens in our workplaces.”

January 29, 2009 – US President Obama’s first signed legislation is the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, a pay equity bill. “The legislation cancels out a Supreme Court ruling last year that declared plaintiffs had to file wage claims within 180 days of a company’s decision to pay a worker less than a counterpart doing the same work.” USA Today Sending the same strong signal on human rights struck during the inauguration, President Obama said,

“Lilly Ledbetter did not set out to be a trailblazer or a household name. She was just a good hard worker who did her job — and she did it well — for nearly two decades before discovering that for years, she was paid less than her male colleagues for doing the very same work. Over the course of her career, she lost more than $200,000 in salary, and even more in pension and Social Security benefits — losses that she still feels today”

“Now, Lilly could have accepted her lot and moved on. She could have decided that it wasn’t worth the hassle and the harassment that would inevitably come with speaking up for what she deserved. But instead, she decided that there was a principle at stake, something worth fighting for. So she set out on a journey that would take more than 10 years, take her all the way to the Supreme Court of the United States, and lead to this day and this bill which will help others get the justice she was denied. …

“I intend to send a clear message: That making our economy work means making sure it works for everyone. That there are no second class citizens in our workplaces, and that it’s not just unfair and illegal — it’s bad for business — to pay someone less because of their gender, or their age, race, ethnicity, religion or disability.”</