1.This Act may be cited as the
Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of
2009
.
2.Congress finds the following:
(1)The Supreme Court in Ledbetter v. Goodyear
Tire & Rubber Co., 550 U.S. 618 (2007), significantly impairs statutory
protections against discrimination in compensation that Congress established
and that have been bedrock principles of American law for decades. The
Ledbetter decision undermines those statutory protections by unduly restricting
the time period in which victims of discrimination can challenge and recover
for discriminatory compensation decisions or other practices, contrary to the
intent of Congress.
(2)The limitation imposed by the Court on the
filing of discriminatory compensation claims ignores the reality of wage
discrimination and is at odds with the robust application of the civil rights
laws that Congress intended.
(3)With regard to any charge of discrimination
under any law, nothing in this Act is intended to preclude or limit an
aggrieved person’s right to introduce evidence of an unlawful employment
practice that has occurred outside the time for filing a charge of
discrimination.
(4)Nothing in this Act is intended to change
current law treatment of when pension distributions are considered paid.
3.Discrimination in compensation because of
race, color, religion, sex, or national originSection 706(e) of the Civil Rights
Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e–5(e)) is amended by adding at the end
the following:
(3)(A)For purposes of this section, an unlawful
employment practice occurs, with respect to discrimination in compensation in
violation of this title, when a discriminatory compensation decision or other
practice is adopted, when an individual becomes subject to a discriminatory
compensation decision or other practice, or when an individual is affected by
application of a discriminatory compensation decision or other practice,
including each time wages, benefits, or other compensation is paid, resulting
in whole or in part from such a decision or other practice.
(B)In addition to any relief authorized by
section 1977A of the Revised Statutes (42 U.S.C. 1981a), liability may accrue
and an aggrieved person may obtain relief as provided in subsection (g)(1),
including recovery of back pay for up to two years preceding the filing of the
charge, where the unlawful employment practices that have occurred during the
charge filing period are similar or related to unlawful employment practices
with regard to discrimination in compensation that occurred outside the time
for filing a
charge.
.
4.Discrimination in compensation because of
ageSection 7(d) of the Age
Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (29 U.S.C. 626(d)) is amended—
(1)in the first sentence—
(A)by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as
subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively; and
(B)by striking (d)
and
inserting (d)(1)
;
(2)in the third sentence, by striking
Upon
and inserting the following:
(2)Upon
;
and
(3)by adding at the end the following:
(3)For purposes of this section, an unlawful
practice occurs, with respect to discrimination in compensation in violation of
this Act, when a discriminatory compensation decision or other practice is
adopted, when a person becomes subject to a discriminatory compensation
decision or other practice, or when a person is affected by application of a
discriminatory compensation decision or other practice, including each time
wages, benefits, or other compensation is paid, resulting in whole or in part
from such a decision or other
practice.
.
5.Application to other laws
(a)Americans with Disabilities Act of
1990The amendments made by
section 3 shall apply to claims of discrimination in compensation brought under
title I and section 503 of the Americans with Disabilities Act of
1990 (42 U.S.C. 12111 et seq., 12203), pursuant to section 107(a) of
such Act (42 U.S.C. 12117(a)), which adopts the powers, remedies, and
procedures set forth in section 706 of the Civil Rights Act of
1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e–5).
(b)Rehabilitation Act of 1973The amendments made by section 3 shall
apply to claims of discrimination in compensation brought under sections 501
and 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 791,
794), pursuant to—
(1)sections 501(g) and 504(d) of such Act (29
U.S.C. 791(g), 794(d)), respectively, which adopt the standards applied under
title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 for
determining whether a violation has occurred in a complaint alleging employment
discrimination; and
(2)paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 505(a) of
such Act (29 U.S.C. 794a(a)) (as amended by subsection (c)).
(c)
(1)Rehabilitation Act of 1973Section 505(a) of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794a(a)) is
amended—
(A)in paragraph (1), by inserting after
(42 U.S.C. 2000e–5 (f) through (k))
the following: (and
the application of section 706(e)(3) (42 U.S.C. 2000e–5(e)(3)) to claims of
discrimination in compensation)
; and
(B)in paragraph (2), by inserting after
1964
the following: (42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.) (and in
subsection (e)(3) of section 706 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 2000e–5), applied to
claims of discrimination in compensation)
.
(2)Section 717 of the Civil Rights
Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e–16) is amended by adding at the end the
following:
(f)Section 706(e)(3) shall apply to complaints
of discrimination in compensation under this
section.
.
(3)Age Discrimination in Employment Act of
1967Section 15(f) of the
Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (29 U.S.C.
633a(f)) is amended by striking of section
and inserting
of sections 7(d)(3) and
.
6.This Act, and the
amendments made by this Act, take effect as if enacted on May 28, 2007 and
apply to all claims of discrimination in compensation under title VII of the
Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e et seq.), the
Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (29 U.S.C.
621 et seq.), title I and section 503 of the Americans with
Disabilities Act of 1990, and sections 501 and 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973, that are pending on or after
that date.
Speaker of the House of Representatives
Vice President of the United States and President of the
Senate