Lilly Ledbetter began working for Goodyear Tire Company in 1979. During her time at the Gadsden, Alabama location she spent 20 years receiving or not receiving pay raises. Shortly after her early retirement in late 1998, Lilly sued the company for pay discrimination. Her research into the possible sexual discrimination of the company that began earlier that year led her to believe that she had not been receiving equal pay. In today's workplace, women are still making only 77 cents for every dollar that a man makes. Barack has been a strong advocate for women receiving equal pay for equal throughout his career. In the Illinois State Senate, Obama cosponsored and voted for the Illinois Equal Pay Act, which provided 330,000 more women protection from pay discrimination. In the U.S. Senate, Obama joined a bipartisan group of Senators to introduce the Fair Pay Restoration Act, a bill to overturn the Supreme Court's recent 5-4 decision in Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company. The bill would restore the clear intent of Congress that workers must have a reasonable time to file a pay discrimination claim after they become victims of discriminatory compensation. Obama is also a cosponsor of Senator Tom Harkin's (D-IA) Fair Pay Act.As part of Women's Week, Lilly will join Michelle Obama in Richmond, Virginia today for an economic roundtable with working women. Watch this video of Lilly telling part of her story at this year's Democratic National Convention...
Comments are closed for this post.
