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Supreme Court: Discrimination Isn't Paycheck to Paycheck
In Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., decided May 29, 2007, the U.S. Supreme Court clarified for employers the statute of limitations applicable to pay discrimination claims under Title VII. Under Title VII, pay discrimination claims based on gender must be charged within a specified period (180 – 300 days, depending on the State) after the alleged act of discrimination. The Supreme Court held that the act of discrimination itself must occur within the specified period and that the issuance of a paycheck, reflecting the effects of earlier alleged discrimination, does not renew the statute of limitations period or permit the employee to sue on the earlier discriminatory act.
Ledbetter, a 19-year Goodyear employee, alleged that, early in her employment, she was discriminated against because of her gender on several employment evaluations, which, years later, caused her pay to be significantly less than that of her male colleagues. Ledbetter urged the Court to hold that every ensuing paycheck (particularly the paychecks she received during the EEOC charging period) was a separate act of discrimination as it "carried forward intentionally discriminatory disparities from prior years."
The Supreme Court rejected Ledbetter's argument under the plain language of Title VII and prior case law. The Court held that a discriminatory pay-setting decision is a "discrete act" of discrimination akin to termination, failure to promote, denial of transfer, and refusal to hire. Under Title VII, such discrete acts must occur within the EEOC charging period. As the Court has consistently held, subsequent acts by an employer—such as the issuance of a paycheck—done without discriminatory intent but which reflect the "effects" of past discrimination, are not sufficient to trigger a new statute of limitations under Title VII. |
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