Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Bush's Supreme Court Says OK to Pay Women Less

All an employer has to do to get away with paying women less for the same work done by men is keep it secret for 180 days! That's the effect of the recent Supreme Court decision, Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. According to the May 29 NYT, Lilly Ledbetter's salary was initially the same as the men doing the same work. Over time, she received smaller raises than the men and by the time she realized the disparity and sued, her salary fell short by 40%. However, she was past the 180 day deadline (from the time her pay was set) in Title VII for filing a complaint.

A Federal District Court and the EEOC supported Ledbetter's claim of pay discrimination, but the Bush Administration disavowed the EEOC's position and filed a brief on the side of the employer, saying Ledbetter could not bring suit because she had past the 180 day deadline. Where have we heard this before? When has a Bush ever supported a victim of discrimination or taken a stand against discrimination in general? In this case, the two 43 appointees - Roberts and Alito, and Thomas - the 41 appointee, joined Scalia and Kennedy - both Reagan appointees, for the 5 to 4 majority. Isn't there a pattern here? The last three Republican presidents created this majority!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Given this Ledbetter decision, I can't understand why any woman would vote for a Republican for President in 2008. We need to change the balance on the Supreme Court and just hope Bush does not get another appointment in the next 18 months. On the other hand, listening to Chris Mathews' assumption that all women will be voting for Hillary is absurd! Does he think we vote with our boobs, not our brains?