As the Supreme Court term comes to a close this week, Congress is poised to take action to correct an unjust 5-4 Court ruling in the pay discrimination case of Lilly Ledbetter. Rep. George Miller (D-CA) has introduced the “Ledbetter Fair Time For Fair Pay Act of 2007” with 16 co-sponsors in the U.S. House.
Today, Ralph G. Neas, president of People For the American Way, criticized the Court’s rightward turn and urged passage of the bill:
“Lilly Ledbetter’s case is another indication of how far to the right the Supreme Court has shifted, and how much we stand to lose because of it. Our civil rights and decades of progress stand in peril. Americans believe in fair pay for women and men in the workplace, and Congress has mandated it. Yet now, it will require another act of Congress to undo this unjust decision. The Court’s decision denied justice to Lilly Ledbetter, and put thousands of Americans suffering discrimination at risk of the same injustice – not just women, but anyone who is discriminated against on the basis of sex, race or age. We urge Congress to expedite passage of the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act to make sure that no other Americans facing workplace pay discrimination be denied justice.”