Senate passes Lilly Ledbetter Fairy Pay Act

The National Organization for Women (NOW) explains:

The Ledbetter Act, which was blocked in the Republican-led Senate last year, will essentially reverse the 2007 Supreme Court decision that required workers to file charges on a pay discrimination claim within six months after receiving their first discriminatory paycheck. The Court's decision in Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire and Rubber, which reversed the jury's compensation award to Ledbetter, essentially gave employers the go-ahead to discriminate in pay, as long as they weren't caught in the first six months after the onset of their illegal actions.

Earlier this month the House passed the Ledbetter Act with a companion bill, the Paycheck Fairness Act, which would close loopholes that allow employers to pay men and women discriminatorily and provides consequences for that discrimination. The Senate today acted only on the Ledbetter Act, so work on passage of the companion bill begins tomorrow.