USW Calls Senate Republicans Action to Block Fair Pay Act a Resounding Message to Working Americans who are Victims of Wage Discrimination

Contact:   Gary Hubbard, 202-778-4384; 202-256-8125

PITTSBURGH – Leo W. Gerard, President of the United Steelworkers (USW) issued a statement after Republican Senators blocked consideration of the ‘Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act’ to reverse a Supreme Court decision last spring that ruled a supervisor named Lilly Ledbetter at Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. in Alabama, could not sue her employer over unequal pay because the alleged discrimination that cut her wages occurred years before she filed a complaint.

The U.S. House passed this same legislative bill last year. A lower court awarded $4 million in damages to Ledbetter. But the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed, saying she didn’t meet a requirement to file within 180 days of the discriminatory action, and the high court agreed in a 5-4 ruling. The legislation before the Senate was written to provide a remedy on the filing deadline.

STATEMENT BY USW PRESIDENT GERARD:

“Just one day after ‘National Equal Pay Day,’ Senate Republicans chose to deny working women and men who are victims of compensation discrimination at the workplace, the opportunity to seek effective remedies.  Their actions sent a resounding message to America’s working families that equal work does not amount to equal pay.  As our economy continues to spiral downward, every penny counts and workers who are victims of pay discrimination can not afford to not have remedies in place to ensure pay equity.”

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