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Tell your Senators to Support the Fair Pay Restoration Act

The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed legislation that would allow pay discrimination claims to be filed within 180 days of the issuance of a discriminatory paycheck. Now the legislation (H.R. 2831) is in the Senate, and the AFT needs your help to tell your senators to vote to pass this legislation.

Sample Letter for Campaign

Subject: Support the Fair Pay Restoration Act

Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,

I am writing to ask that you support the Fair Pay Restoration Act (H.R. 2831). This bill addresses pay discrimination practices by amending the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to reflect that pay discrimination occurs each time a discriminatory paycheck is issued.

In Goodyear v. Ledbetter, the U.S. Supreme Court found that Lilly Ledbetter's claim for pay discrimination was precluded because the 180-day deadline for filing a pay discrimination claim had expired. The high court came to this conclusion despite the continuous pay discrimination Ledbetter experienced for several more years beyond the initial 180-day filing cutoff.

The Fair Pay Restoration Act will overturn the U.S. Supreme Court ruling by eliminating the arbitrary 180-day time limit for filing. This will ensure that employees such as Lilly Ledbetter are compensated for their loss in pay and for damages.

Please join your colleagues in the House, who passed similar legislation, and support the Fair Pay Restoration Act (H.R. 2831) to help ensure that employers are no longer able to discriminate against employees based on gender or for any other reason.

Please tell me where you stand on this issue.

Sincerely,

Campaign Launched:
October 25, 2007



Background Information

The Fair Pay Restoration Act (H.R. 2831) allows pay discrimination claims to be filed within 180 days of the issuance of a discriminatory paycheck, no matter how long the discrimination has been taking place. This follows a U.S. Supreme Court decision (Goodyear v. Ledbetter), which found that Lilly Ledbetter waited too long to sue for pay discrimination, despite having filed a claim with the EEOC when she first noticed that she was being paid unfairly. For several years, Ledbetter unknowingly received paychecks that were significantly less than those of her male counterparts.


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