Washington, DC- Tomorrow marks the second anniversary of the signing of the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, the first bill President Obama signed into law.  In honor of this anniversary, Representative Yvette D. Clarke released the following statement:

            “The Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act is an important piece of legislation that changes the statute of limitations on equal pay discrimination.  The law was named after a woman by the name of Lily Ledbetter, who received fewer raises than her male coworkers over the course of nearly twenty years working at a factory.  The Supreme Court ruled that her lawsuit fell outside of the statute of limitations, which was interpreted as 180 days since the pay was agreed upon, making this discrimination ostensibly legal so long as the victim is unaware for some time.  With this law companies will no longer be able to discriminate an employee’s pay based on sex or race, without facing the full legal ramifications.

            “It is important to protect the rights of all employees and discrimination based on sex, race, gender or ethnicity should not be tolerated in this nation.  I am proud to have supported the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, and it is an honor to celebrate this law’s second year anniversary.”

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