By Brandon Sipherd

This last week marked the one-year anniversary of Barack Obama’s victory over Senator John McCain.  Reflecting on this past year, we cannot help but ask if President Obama’s victory really brought about change?  Despite the many criticisms the President has received this last year, he has left a mark on one important area: pay equity.

Over 45 years ago, President Kennedy singed the Equal Pay Act, making it illegal for employers to pay unequal wages to men and women who perform the same work.  At that time women received 59 cents to every dollar earned by men.  Today that has increased to about 78 cents for every dollar paid to men; in New York the average is slightly higher as women receive 82 cents for every dollar.  Although the pay gap is closing, women across America continue to suffer from this discriminatory practice.

In January 2009, President Obama signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which is a step forward in improving pay discrimination laws.  This substantive piece of legislation reverses the Supreme Court’s ruling in Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., which severely limited a worker’s ability to vindicate her rights under federal anti-discrimination laws.  This reversal of the Supreme Court’s ruling restores the protections against pay discrimination that used to exist.  Now people who suffer pay wage discrimination based on sex, race, national origin, age, religion and disability may file a claim when they became subject to discriminatory practice or affected by a discriminatory practice.  This includes any time an employee receives a discriminatory paycheck.  Therefore, the 180-day statute of limitations for filing a pay discrimination lawsuit resets with each new discriminatory paycheck.  Thanks to President Obama’s signing of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, anyone who is subjected to pay discrimination will now have a greater ability to challenge and vindicate their rights in a court of law.

At Leeds Morelli & Brown, PC, we believe that discrimination has no place in a democratic and free society.  Our employment law attorneys are dedicated to resolving issues of wage discrimination and pay equity in the workplace and elsewhere.  Our firm has had considerable success in handling matters such as these throughout Long Island and the New York City area.  We take great pride not only in providing quality legal service and representation, but also in being there for clients when they need it most.

For more information, contact Leeds, Morelli and Brown, PC at 1-800-585-4658.