Posted on January 29th, 2009 by Tim Eavenson | 1 Comment »
Filed under: ., Discrimination, HR Issues, Politics | 
This morning, President Obama signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act into law. It was the first bill Obama has signed since taking office.
Joining him at the signing ceremony were, among others, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, First Lady Michelle Obama, and Lilly Ledbetter herself, who is seen on the video receiving the signatory pen.
The law is intended to reverse the Supreme Court decision, also bearing Ledbetter’s name, that plaintiffs in discrimination cases must bring their claims within 180 days from the initial discriminatory act. Under the newly-signed revision, claimants have 180 days since the most recent discriminatory act. This difference means that employees like Ledbetter, who worked for years without knowing she was being paid unequally, have 180 days from their last paycheck to file suit.
A couple of important notes about the Ledbetter Act:
- It is not limited to gender discrimination. The law changes the filing limitations in all major antidiscrimination statutes, including the Americans with Disabilities and Age Discrimination in Employment Acts.
- It doesn’t change the amount a plaintiff can recover. That is still limited under most statutes to damages dating 2-years back from the date the claimant files a charge.
- The law is designed to be retroactive, applying to cases initiated anytime on or after May 28, 2007 (the day before the Supreme Court’s decision). What this means for the cases that have been dismissed in the interim, or for Ledbetter herself, in unclear. (Some have suggested that she wins nunc pro tunc. I’m not so sure.) Expect this point to be litigated agressively and soon.
Posted on January 23rd, 2009 by Tim Eavenson | No Comments »
Filed under: Labor Law, Politics |
The following is the text of a press release from the National Labor Relations Board. Story to come.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, Jan 22, 2009
On January 20, 2009, President Barack Obama designated Wilma B. Liebman, a Member of the National Labor Relations Board, as Chairman.
Chairman Liebman has served on the Board since November 14, 1997. First appointed by President Clinton, she is now serving her third term, which will expire on August 27, 2011.
In a statement, Chairman Liebman said:
I am honored by President Obama’s designation to serve as Chairman, and I look forward to continuing my service on the Board with my colleague, Peter Schaumber, and ultimately with a full complement of Board Members.
I wish to thank Member Schaumber for his own outstanding service as Chairman. His leadership and collegiality, coupled with the efforts of dedicated agency staff, have enabled the Board to operate productively this past year.
The Board’s work matters, just as it did when the National Labor Relations Act was passed in 1935. Democracy in the workplace is still basic to a democratic society, and collective bargaining is still basic to a fair economy. The statute we administer is the foundation of America’s commitment to human rights recognized around the world.
Before joining the Board, Chairman Liebman served from 1994 to 1997 at the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, first as Special Assistant to the Director and then as Deputy Director. She began her legal career as an NLRB staff attorney in 1974, then served on the legal staff of two labor unions: the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (1980-1989) and the International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftsmen (1990-1993).
A native of Philadelphia, Chairman Liebman holds a B.A. from Barnard College and a J.D. from the George Washington University Law Center.
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Posted on January 21st, 2009 by Tim Eavenson | No Comments »
Filed under: ., Labor Law, Politics |
Politico is reporting that some Republican Senators may be campaigning to block the approval of Secretary of Labor nominee Hilda Solis.
The GOP is ostensibly upset that Solis dodged certain questions during her confirmation hearing last week. From the article:
“She answered no questions,” said Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), a member of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. “If she won’t answer the questions, how can you support the nomination?”
During the California Democrat’s Jan. 9 confirmation hearing, Solis repeatedly told senators that she could not speak for the incoming Obama administration on the card check bill, and she told Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) that she was “not qualified” to speak about maintaining right-to-work laws that prohibit workers from paying union dues as a condition of employment.
This, of course, has little to do with Congresswoman Solis’s answers at her hearing. The Republican Senators on the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee have enough background on Solis to know exactly where she stands on these laws. As we noted earlier, Solis has been a champion of labor since her days in the California legislature. Plus, with 58 Democratically-controlled seats and at least some Republican support, Solis’ approval by the Senate is near-certain.
It is much more likely that the GOP is using Solis’s appointment as a shot across the bow of the new administration. By gumming up Solis’s confirmation a little, the Republican minority is letting President Obama and their Democratic counterparts in the Senate know that the fight over labor-changing laws like EFCA will not be quick and easy, either.
