As expected, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act passed Congress (the House passed the Senate version 250-177 on January 27). President Obama has announced he will sign the bill into law–the very first bill he will sign–on January 29. The Act will overturn a U.S. Supreme Court decision that limited the time frame for bringing pay discrimination claims. (For more information on the Act and its history, check out this previous post here at the Stoel Rives World of Employment).
Here’s an important wrinkle: as passed, the Act will be retroactive, and will apply to all claims of discrimination in compensation that are pending on or after May 28, 2007. This may have an impact on many pending unfair and unequal pay lawsuits.