WASHINGTON, DC -- In an effort to prevent discrimination in the workplace and promote equal pay for equal work, President Obama today signed into law the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, marking the first major piece of legislation enacted during his tenure. U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) was an original cosponsor of this legislation, which reverses the Supreme Court's Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. decision from 2007. That controversial 5-4 decision required employees to file a pay discrimination claim within 180 days of their employer's initial discriminatory actions, even if the discrimination continued after the 180-day period and an employee had no way of knowing he/she was being paid less for the same work.

"We built a strong bipartisan foundation in Congress to respond to discrimination in the workplace. But for the past several years, the Bush Administration used its veto power to widen the economic and social disparity now felt by millions of Americans. By signing this bill into law today, President Obama has given all Americans an important victory and brought us another step closer towards restoring fair pay and equal treatment for working men and women," said Reed.

The Senate passed the bill by a vote of 61 to 36 on January 22nd. The House passed the Senate version on January 27 by a vote of 250 to 177.

The legislation is named for Lilly Ledbetter, an Alabama woman who sued her employer, the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, for pay discrimination. Despite a lower court finding that Goodyear Tire had discriminated against Ms. Ledbetter, she lost her case when the Supreme Court ruled that her complaint was not filed within the appropriate statute of limitations.

Under the Ledbetter ruling, workers could face longstanding pay discrimination and yet be shortchanged of a remedy simply because they did not discover the discrimination within 180 days of their initial discriminatory paycheck. The Ledbetter decision overturned established precedent in courts of appeals across the country and the policy of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission under both Democratic and Republican administrations.

The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 returns the law to the pre-Ledbetter precedent by clarifying that each discriminatory paycheck restarts the 180-day period. This allows workers to demonstrate and detect a pattern or cumulative series of employer decisions or acts showing ongoing pay discrimination.

"Our nation has come a long way in ensuring fairness, justice, and equality in the workplace. However, we know there are still significant barriers to overcome in closing the pay gap and making certain that gender, race, religion, age, and other factors are not an impediment to economic opportunity and prosperity. The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 brings us one step closer toward achieving this goal," concluded Reed.

Civil rights groups, law groups, and labor organizations, including the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and the American Bar Association (ABA), advocated for passage of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.