Supreme Court Ruling Endorses Pay Discrimination

Statement

Supreme Court Ruling Endorses Pay Discrimination

Congresswomen Rosa DeLauro (CT-3), Lois Capps (CA-23), chair of the Democratic Women's Working Group, Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC), Jan Schakowsky (IL-9), vice-chair of the Democratic Women's Working Group, Louise Slaughter (NY-28), Hilda Solis (CA-32), and Lynn Woolsey (CA-6) issued the following joint statement on the Supreme Court's ruling in Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company by a narrow 5 to 4 margin to limit the ability of women and other employees to sue their employers for pay discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.

"With this ruling limiting a worker's ability to sue for pay discrimination, the Supreme Court effectively rolled-back efforts to ensure equal pay.

"This interpretation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act completely ignores the reality of the workplace and is based on the illogical conclusion that a victim of pay disparity will be able to document - despite the typical office secrecy over income - a discriminatory difference in the salaries within six months. It completely overlooks that a victim may be afraid to file a complaint.

"And it is flatly inconsistent with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's interpretation of the 180-day deadline to file a claim under Title VII, as well as previous applications of this deadline to other federal civil rights statutes, such as the Equal Pay Act and the Fair Labor Standards Act.

"The ruling leaves these individuals with no recourse or remedy.

"The ruling also adds yet another roadblock as women work to close the wage gap. According to the Department of Labor the weekly earnings of full-time working women were about three-fourths of men's during 2006 - an average of 77 cents for every dollar earned by their male counterparts. And it is clear that this wage gap does not end after the initial incident, it continues to grow over the course of a woman's working life, resulting in very real economic costs.

‘That is why we support and are working to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act, which would add teeth to the Equal Pay Act. It would bring wage discrimination cases brought under the Equal Pay Act - which only allows for the recovery of backpay and possibly an equal amount in liquidated damages - in-line with Title VII - which entitles the plaintiff to backpay, compensatory damages and punitive damages for "intentional" wage discrimination.

"With this ruling we are again reminded that while we have made strides against pay discrimination in the American workplace, our work is far from done."

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