Washington – The American Association of University Women was deeply disappointed in the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company. AAUW believes the decision is a step backward for women and for any employee alleging pay discrimination under Title VII.
On May 29, the Supreme Court ruled to limit employees’ ability to sue for pay discrimination. The Court upheld a circuit court ruling against a Goodyear Tire employee who successfully proved to a jury that the company discriminated against her based on sex. Lilly Ledbetter unsuccessfully tried for many years to address the issue through internal company channels, and then filed suit shortly before her retirement. The Court cites Title VII, a civil rights law that requires employees to claim discrimination within 180 days, or lose their chance to sue.
“This decision sends a message to employers that they can get away with pay discrimination as long as they aren’t caught within 180 days,” said AAUW Director of Public Policy and Government Relations Lisa Maatz. “It takes time to discover and prove discrimination – six months simply isn’t enough time – and this decision will make it even harder for women to close the persistent wage gap.”
AAUW commends Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg for speaking out on behalf of women in a rare dissent she read from the bench, where she criticized the majority for opinions that undermine women’s rights and urged Congress to address the timing issue at the heart of this case.
The AAUW Educational Foundation recently released a report on the gender pay gap, which showed that as early as one year out of college, women already earn less than their male counterparts. Behind the Pay Gap also shows ten years after graduation, women fall further behind, earning only 69 percent of what men earn. Even after controlling for hours, occupation, parenthood, and other factors known to affect earnings, the research indicates that a portion pay gap remains unexplained and is likely due to sex discrimination.
“This 5-4 decision underscores yet again the critical impact that extremist nominees can have on civil rights, and AAUW will continue to closely monitor judicial nominees for fairness, balance, and respect for settled precedent,” Maatz said. “This case also clearly demonstrates the need to update current law, and AAUW supports the Paycheck Fairness Act as just one avenue to close critical loopholes.”
Ledbetter, a Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company employee, filed suit against her employer under Title VII claiming that she was paid less than her male coworkers because of her gender. Ledbetter began working for Goodyear in 1979 and filed her charge of discrimination with the EEOC in 1998. A jury awarded Ledbetter $360,000, after she was able to prove discrimination occurred. The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals later reversed the jury decision. On May 29, 2007 the Supreme Court upheld the 11th Circuits’ reversal of the jury verdict, ruling that Ledbetter’s claim was untimely. Writing for the majority, Justice Samuel Alito rejected Ledbetter’s argument that the Court should consider discriminatory pay decisions made by Goodyear that influenced her salary because those decisions happened outside of the 180-day time period for filing a charge (under Title VII).
AAUW is also disappointed that the U.S. Government, through the Bush Administration, sided with Goodyear in the case. The government’s stance reversed the EEOC’s longstanding position that repeated payments of discriminatory paychecks can be challenged as long as one discriminatory payment occurred within the filing period.
Learn more about the AAUW Legal Advocacy Fund.
For more information or to schedule an interview with AAUW Director of Public Policy and Government Relations Lisa Maatz, please contact Rebecca Leaf, senior media relations associate at 202/785-7738, leafr@aauw.org or Ashley Carr, director of communications at 202/785-7745, carra@aauw.org.
