Democratic House Moves Fast on Anti-Worker Supreme Court Ruling

by Mike Hall , Jun 13, 2007

Last month when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Lilly Ledbetter—who was paid less than male workers doing the same job—had waited too long to file a pay discrimination suit, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg issued a dissenting opinion in which she said Congress should act to ensure workers’ sufficient access to redress for pay discrimination Yesterday, the U.S. House Education and Labor Committee acted on Ginsburg’s advice.

Committee Chairman George Miller (D-Calif.) says the hearing was the first step in congressional action toward reversing the court’s ruling ( see video ).

With the Ledbetter decisions, the court is telling employers that to escape responsibility, all they need to do is keep their discrimination hidden and run out the clock. As Justice [Ruth Bader] Ginsburg suggested, the ball has now fallen into Congress’ court. And make no mistake—Congress intends to act to correct the Supreme Court’s grievous insult to American workers.