Washington, D.C. – Lilly Ledbetter is an Alabama grandmother who is a crusader for equal rights.
She spent nearly 20 years working in a Gadsden tire plant before an anonymous note informed her that her male colleagues were being paid far more money for the same work.
Ledbetter sued her employer, Goodyear, for pay discrimination. She won $3.8 million from a jury. A judge reduced the award to $360,000 and a federal appeals court overturned the verdict altogether.
But what really elevated Ledbetter's cause to the national stage was a 5-4 Supreme Court ruling in 2007 that sided with Goodyear.
The high court ruled Ledbetter waited too long to sue, citing a federal law setting a 180-day deadline for complaining about alleged discrimination.
Now, Congressional Democrats are backing a bill that would overturn the decision making it more difficult to sue over past pay discrimination. A second bill would close loopholes allowing employers to get around a law requiring equal pay for equal work.
The legislation bears Ledbetter's name.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)