President Obama Signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act into Law

President Obama's remark on Jan.29, 2009 before signing his first piece of legislation into law.

Signing this bill today is to send a clear message:  that making our economy work means making sure it works for everybody; that there are no second-class citizens in our workplaces; and that it's not just unfair and illegal, it's bad for business to pay somebody less because of their gender or their age or their race or their ethnicity, religion or disability; and that justice isn't about some abstract legal theory, or footnote in a casebook. It's about how our laws affect the daily lives and the daily realities of people:  their ability to make a living and care for their families and achieve their goals.    

Today, Jan.29, President Obama signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 into law since becoming president nine days ago, which will enable workers to sue for pay discrimination based on gender, age, ethnicity, and religion. 

The legislation would allow aggrieved workers to file a lawsuit for up to six months after receiving any paycheck that deemed discriminatory toward them.  The public can read the full text of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009. 

In other words, this Act empowers an aggrieved employee to file a suit against the company for pay parity.  In turn, the Ledbetter Act may serve as a warning to those companies that are still practicing pay disparity with impunity. 

The bill was named after Ms. Lilly Ledbetter, now at the age of 70, who discovered late in her career that the male supervisors at the Goodyear Tire & Rubber plant where she worked in Alabama were paid 40% more for doing the same work. She sued the company to recover the pay owed to her and the jury voted in favor of her suit. 

The Supreme Court, however, in a 5-4 vote, ruled against her suit for a full and equitable pay.  It was deemed invalid as Ms. Ledbetter filed her suit outside of the specified time.  Therefore, the court ruled that she could only recover the first 180 days of the pay-disparity.

United States Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-Md) was the primary sponsor of the bill.  President Obama signed into law a significantly powerful tool to fight discrimination.  He was surrounded by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and with the new law's namesake, Ms. Lilly Ledbetter, at his side. 

The President spoke about the significance of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act as he recalled his grandmother's experience of working in a bank to support him and his sister.  

That is what Lilly Ledbetter challenged us to do. And today, I sign this bill not just in her honor, but in the honor of those who came before -- women like my grandmother, who worked in a bank all her life, and even after she hit that glass ceiling, kept getting up and giving her best every day, without complaint, because she wanted something better for me and my sister.

The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act was signed in the East Room followed by a reception in the State Dining Room of the White House.  The ceremony also marked First Lady Michelle Obama’s policy debut; she spoke afterward in a reception in the State Dining Room, where she called Ms. Ledbetter “one of my favorite people."

First Lady Michelle Obama's remark in honor of the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009:

I had the opportunity to meet Lilly during the campaign and to hear her story. First of all, she is one of my favorite people in the whole wide world. Anyone who meets Lilly can't help but be impressed by her commitment, her dedication, her focus. 

In traveling across the country over the past two years, Lilly's story and the broader issue of equal pay was a concern voiced over and over and over again. It was a top and critical priority for women of all racial and ethnic backgrounds -- older women, younger women, women with disabilities, and their families. This legislation is an important step forward, particularly at a time when so many families are facing economic insecurity and instability.