Why is the Ledbetter decision bad for employees?
The decision fails to protect most victims of pay discrimination because it ignores workplace reality. Very few employees have ready access to their colleagues’ salaries, or to any other information which would clue them in to the fact that they are being paid less than their peers. In the case of Lilly Ledbetter, the plaintiff in the Ledbetter case, she only found out about the discrimination against her when she received an anonymous note well after the discrimination had begun. As a result of the Ledbetter decision, employees who don’t learn about paycheck discrimination until more than 180 days past the moment when the decision to pay them less is made will have no remedy. The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act gives employees a fair and reasonable opportunity to file paycheck discrimination claims.
