Fair Pay Act Signed By President Obama

On January 27, 2009, the House and Senate reconciled their versions of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 and send the agreed bill to President Obama, who signed it into law on January 29, 2009. 

The final version of this law is substantially broader than newspaper accounts, which often refer to it as being necessary to allow female employees to be able to proceed with respect to their claims of unequal pay.   This law covers all  categories of  prohibited discrimination under Title VII, as well as under the ADA, ADEA and the Rehabilitation Act.   Additionally, the law refers to decisions which may discriminatorily impact upon benefits and other forms of compensation.  This latter provision may result in additional challenges with respect to benefit payments that are based upon compensation decisions that were made many years ago.

The law is intended to have a retroactive effect and apply to all charges that were pending on or after May 28, 2007.