Full Event Description
Title: Know Your Wage: How to Prepare and Protect Your Company from the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act
Was held: May 21, 2009
Presenter:
A. Martin Wickliff, Jr, Managing Shareholder, Epstein Becker Green Wickliff & Hall, P.C.
Who should attend: CEO, CFO, COO, CCO, General Counsel, labor counsel, Senior Management, Human Resources Personnel
On January 29, 2009, President Obama signed his first article of legislation into law: the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009. With namesake Lilly Ledbetter standing at his side, the President remarked, “[i]t is fitting that with the very first bill I sign - the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act - we are upholding one of this nation's first principles: that we are all created equal and each deserve a chance to pursue our own version of happiness.”
The Act overturns a controversial decision issued by the U.S. Supreme Court which significantly impaired employees’ opportunity to file suit for pay discrimination. According to the Court’s ruling, the statute of limitations, within which employees were required to file suit, began to run when the underlying pay decision was made, not from the point at which the employee received the paycheck being challenged. Those in opposition to the Court’s ruling argued employees typically do not learn of pay disparities until significant periods of time pass, often beyond the statute of limitations period applicable to discrimination claims.
The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act effectively reverses the Supreme Court’s ruling. The Act allows pay discrimination claims to be filed within 180 or 300 days (depending on the employee’s state of employment) of the issuance of the last discriminatory paycheck, regardless of how long ago the actual compensation decision was made.
While the Act remains in its infancy, there is no doubt claims of pay discrimination will exponentially increase. Companies are now faced with the immediate need to devise comprehensive recordkeeping policies and practices to counter the increased threat of pay discrimination claims.
This webinar provides attendees with relevant information necessary to understand the potential ramifications of this significant law. In addition, attendees will be armed with practical advice and recommendations to prepare, as well as protect, their organization from potential claims of pay discrimination.
Learning Objectives:
- Understand the scope and ramifications of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.
- Assess their organization’s level of risk under the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.
- Develop an effective internal wage-audit program to protect their organization from pay discrimination claims.