Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act 2009

The Equal Pay Act of 1963 was signed by John F. Kennedy and amended the Fair Labor Standards Act, aimed at abolishing wage disparity based on sex.   This law has not been fully realized although it was a big step in the right direction.   Statistics show that women are making 77 cents to every dollar earned by men for the same positions.   There was a brave woman from Alabama that decided to take a stand and fight for her right of equal pay after she found out that after 19 years she was being paid substantially less for the same position held by men at a Goodyear Tire and Rubber plant.   Her name was Lilly Ledbetter and she lost her suit based on the timelines of filing under the Equal Pay Act but continued to fight and the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act was the first bill President Obama signed into law in 2009.   Referenced link:   http://www.eeoc.gov/laws/statutes/epa_ledbetter.cfm  
The new act states that the 180-day statute of limitations for filing an equal-pay lawsuit regarding pay discrimination resets with each new paycheck affected by that discriminatory action. The statute of limitations for presenting an equal-pay lawsuit begins on the date that the employer makes the initial discriminatory wage decision, not at the date of the most recent paycheck.
This law is beneficial to every working woman but also to families today who are dependent on the woman’s earnings for economic survival.   A woman who is not paid fairly could lose hundreds of thousands of dollars towards her family’s economic status.   This law is beneficial to women, families, communities and the nation.   If women are paid fairly that money flows back into the economy and acts as a stimulus.
After reading more about equal pay I found out Lilly Ledbetter is back in Washington fighting to close more loop holes in the Equal Pay Act and is behind another law called, “The Paycheck Fairness Act.”   It allows employees to share their salary information with coworkers without repercussion and...