Lilly Ledbetter Obituary, Death – Women’s equality crusader Lilly Ledbetter passed away on Saturday. Her battle for pay fairness resulted in the historic Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 being passed. Her age was 86.
Her speaking manager, Jodi Solomon, confirmed Ledbetter’s passing on Monday. Ledbetter, who was born in Jacksonville, Alabama, was employed in 1979 as a supervisor at a Goodyear tire facility in Gadsden, Alabama. An anonymous message placed in her mailbox years later revealed that she was being paid less than her male coworkers in the same role.
That 1998 action marked the start of Ledbetter’s ten-year legal battle for equity.
Eleven months after learning of the compensation discrepancy, she retired from Goodyear and sued the firm in 1999 for gender discrimination. She was granted over $3 million after winning the lawsuit in 2003, but a statutory cap and $60,000 in back pay caused the award to drop to $300,000.
Goodyear challenged the ruling in the Supreme Court, claiming that Ledbetter was only entitled to reimbursement or damages for the 180 days before her claim was filed. The top court concurred in a 5-4 decision in 2007.
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg stated in her dissent that Ledbetter’s appeal is “not time barred” and that the matter “is in Congress’ court.”
The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, which was passed by Congress less than two years later, modified the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and permits employees to “obtain relief, including recovery of back pay, for up to two years preceding the filing of the charge.” The act was the first bill signed into law by then-President Barack Obama on January 29, 2009.
