The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009

NEWS RELEASE

Immediate: February 15, 2011                                              Download Hi-Res ImageMedia Contact: Alicia Steger 516.572.9634E-mail: alicia.steger@ncc.eduncc.edu/newsreleases

Nassau Community College Presents    

One Woman’s Fight, A Country’s New Law: The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 March 7

 

Garden City, NY – The Nassau Community College Women’s History Month Committee is proud to present Lilly Ledbetter, who will discuss One Woman’s Fight, A Country’s New Law: The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 on Monday, March 7 at 11:00 a.m. in the College Center Building.

In 1979, Lilly Ledbetter took a job at the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company plant in Gadsden, Alabama. At the beginning of her career there, Ledbetter — the only woman in her position — was given the same starting salary as her male colleagues. Over the next 19 years, she not only gained new skills and experience in her supervisory role, she also helped train a number of new hires. Despite her stellar job performance, however, by early retirement, Ledbetter was earning $3,727 per month compared to 15 men who earned from $4,286 to $5,236.

In March 1998, Ledbetter inquired into possible discrimination at Goodyear. In July of 1998, she filed formal charges with the Equal Employment Opportunity commission. By November of that year, Ledbetter sued, claiming pay discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Pay Act of 1963. Although the Supreme Court threw out the case — ruling that she should have filed her suit within 180 days of the date that Goodyear first paid her less than her peers — because of Ledbetter's fight, Congress passed a bill in 2009 that restarts the six-month clock every time the worker receives a paycheck.

One Woman’s Fight, A Country’s New Law: Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 is free, open to the public and accessible to the disabled. For more information, call 516.572.9811.

About Nassau Community College

Nassau Community College, a division of the State University of New York, is an institution where nearly 24,000 full- and part-time students and almost 15,000 continuing and professional students start and continue their successful journey through higher education. More than 70 fields of study are offered on a 225-acre campus located in the center of Long Island. As the largest single-campus two-year college in New York State, Nassau Community College maintains a national reputation for excellence.

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