President Obama signs Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act into Law “A victory for working women,” Meric says

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 29, 2009

Statement of Linda Meric, Executive Director
9to5, National Association of Working Women

MILWAUKEE, WI – January 29, 2009 -- “We applaud President Barack Obama for signing into law today the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act, reversing the 2007 Supreme Court ruling that had made it almost impossible for women and other workers to seek redress for pay discrimination.

This is a victory for working women and an important step forward in achieving equal opportunity. It is also a tribute to Lilly Ledbetter, who, just before she retired after 19 years as a Goodyear tire plant manager, found an anonymous note in her mailbox. That note tipped Ledbetter off that she was being paid less than the men who held the same job, and she took legal action. A 2007 U.S. Supreme Court ruling said that Ledbetter had waited too long to take action, ignoring the workplace reality that employees often don’t have access to the information needed to identify or seek redress for pay inequities.

The Court’s Ledbetter ruling made it almost impossible for victims of ongoing pay discrimination to find an answer through legal action. But today, the President stood on the side of all those who face workplace discrimination and seek justice. Seeing President Obama sign the bill, and pass a ceremonial pen to Lilly Ledbetter, was a truly moving moment. This moment forever reverses an ugly past and moves us toward a new, more equitable reality.

With working families struggling to maintain economic self-sufficiency in this grim economy, it’s more important than ever that we reject wage and salary discrimination and rededicate as a nation to the value of equal pay for equal work.

Just as significant is the timing of today’s bill signing. This comes exactly one week and two days after President Obama took office. Today’s ceremony – the President’s very first East Room signing ceremony – is an early signal of the Obama administration’s intention to support fair pay and change workplace policy for the better.”


9to5, National Association of Working Women, is a national, grassroots membership organization that strengthens women’s ability to work for economic justice. Founded in 1973, 9to5 has activists in more than 200 cities and in every state. More information can be found at www.9to5.org.