Lilly Ledbetter Case Summary
Issue: Can Mrs. Ledbetter, the plaintiff, bring a salary discrimination suit under the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 when the unequal pay is received during the statutory limitations period of 180 days, but the pay is the consequence of the discriminatory salary decisions that occurred before the limitations period?
Facts:
Lilly Ledbetter was one of the very few female supervisors at the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. plant in Gadsden, Alabama, and she worked at that plant for nineteen years, from 1979 till her retirement in 1998. Initially, when she started working for the company, her pay was equal to that of the other male supervisors. However, as time passed the pay discrepancy between Ledbetter and her 15 male counterparts was stark: the lowest she received was $3,727 per month, while the lowest paid male received $4,286. Thus, after realizing this Mrs. Ledbetter filed an official complaint before the EEOC in March 1998, stating that Goodyear violated the Title VII as they paid her a discriminatory low salary due to her sex. After she filed an official complaint, her case went to trial, and the jury concluded that the pay disparity was due to intentional discrimination. However, the Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit reversed the jury verdict, as it claimed Mrs. Ledbetter’s’ case was not filed in time, as the original discriminatory pay decision occurred before the statutory limitations of 180 days. …show more content…
This law prohibits employers from discriminating their employees on the basis of religion, race, sex, color, and national origin. Since Mrs. Ledbetter was paid significantly less than her male employees at Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. it is evident that she felt she was a victim of gender discrimination, and thus filed a complaint against Goodyear for violating the Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights
Facts:
Lilly Ledbetter was one of the very few female supervisors at the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. plant in Gadsden, Alabama, and she worked at that plant for nineteen years, from 1979 till her retirement in 1998. Initially, when she started working for the company, her pay was equal to that of the other male supervisors. However, as time passed the pay discrepancy between Ledbetter and her 15 male counterparts was stark: the lowest she received was $3,727 per month, while the lowest paid male received $4,286. Thus, after realizing this Mrs. Ledbetter filed an official complaint before the EEOC in March 1998, stating that Goodyear violated the Title VII as they paid her a discriminatory low salary due to her sex. After she filed an official complaint, her case went to trial, and the jury concluded that the pay disparity was due to intentional discrimination. However, the Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit reversed the jury verdict, as it claimed Mrs. Ledbetter’s’ case was not filed in time, as the original discriminatory pay decision occurred before the statutory limitations of 180 days. …show more content…
This law prohibits employers from discriminating their employees on the basis of religion, race, sex, color, and national origin. Since Mrs. Ledbetter was paid significantly less than her male employees at Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. it is evident that she felt she was a victim of gender discrimination, and thus filed a complaint against Goodyear for violating the Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights