Saying No To Lilly

IBD Editorials ^ | January 22, 2009

[Kaslin]

Civil Justice: Litigation was up 9% last year, driven in part by a 6% rise in employment cases. But that'll seem modest in comparison if the Lilly Ledbetter legislation is passed by Congress and signed by President Obama.

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Ledbetter worked for Goodyear Tire & Rubber for 19 years, but only after retiring in 1998 with benefits did she sue her employer over what she alleged were discriminatory wages set by a long-dead supervisor.

Ledbetter claimed she wasn't paid on the same scale as men, and was victorious in the lower courts. The Supreme Court, however, ruled that she filed after the statute of limitations that applies to unlawful employment practice (180 days) had expired.

That should have been the end of the story. But congressional Democrats introduced the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act in 2007 to circumvent the decision.

The bill would let plaintiffs bring suits decades after the discrimination had allegedly occurred, thereby driving up the damages available and weakening memories needed for testimony. It would also allow juries to award unlimited monetary damages.

And depending on how the courts interpret the legislation's language, the bill could also create, according to Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, a "new right" for "a person who may not be the person with the injury" — for instance, "an heir, a child, a mother, a father" — to file suit claiming they had been harmed.

It's possible that, under the law, even co-workers who are not the aggrieved party would be free to sue, too, if they say they've been affected by the alleged discrimination.

[rock_lobsta]

So, if this passes, there will now be no statute of limitations on discrimination...

Reparations suit coming in 3.....2.....1....

[xcamel]

Exactly when did he sign the “Silly Bedwetter” act?