Lilly Ledbetter and the Fight to Equal Pay

By Amelia J. Holstrom - Skoler Abbott

October 30, 2024

On October 14, 2024, Lilly Ledbetter, an unintentional icon in the fight for equal pay, passed away at the age of 86.  Ledbetter filed a lawsuit in 1999 that sparked an equal pay movement throughout the United States.  More than 25 years later, pay disparities still exist in every state in the United States. Over the years, the state of Massachusetts, where our firm is located, has implemented a number of legislative measures to achieve pay parity.

Lilly Ledbetter’s Lawsuit

In 1999, Ledbetter, who had been working for Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. for almost 20 years and was currently a manager, received an anonymous letter informing her that she was earning less than her male counterparts for doing the same job at the factory she worked at in Alabama.  As a result of that letter, Ledbetter filed a lawsuit alleging, among other things, discrimination on the basis of her sex in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.  Although Ledbetter initially won her case resulting in a verdict in her favor awarding $3.8 million in back pay and other damages, Ledbetter’s case was overturned by the Supreme Court of the United States in 2007. In its decision, the Supreme Court determined that Ledbetter had not filed her claim within the statute of limitations, because she had not filed her suit within 6 months of receiving her first discriminatory paycheck.  In other words, even though Ledbetter continued to receive discriminatory paychecks leading up to the date she received the anonymous letter and she filed suit within 6 months of learning of the discriminatory pay practice, Ledbetter could not pursue her claims because she did not file within 6 months of receiving her first paycheck that paid her less than her three male counterparts.

Many viewed this as an unjust result and in 2009, President Barack Obama signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act into law.  The statute provides that an employee has 180 days to file a lawsuit following each discriminatory paycheck, when the employee is alleging discrimination on the basis of age, religion, national origin, race, sex, and/or disability.

Pay Disparities Still Exist in Every State

More than 25 years following Ledbetter’s efforts, pay disparities based on sex still exist in every state in the United States and not much has improved in the last 20 years.  For example, according to the Pew Research Center, in 2002, women made 80% as much as men on average and in 2022 they made 82% as much as men. The U.S. Census Bureau has also conducted a pay gap analysis, but only looks at full-time workers.  Their data shows that in 2021, women made 84% of what male counterparts earned.  On Equal Pay Day in 2004, the Biden Administration estimated that women still make just 84% of what men earn on average nation-wide, with women earning less than men in approximately 90% of occupations.  As of 2018, in Massachusetts, women made 84.3% of what men earned, on average, according to the Commonwealth.  There is a larger disparity among women of color and men.  

The reasons often associated with the gender pay gap are that women are more likely to work in lower paying jobs (sometimes due to discrimination) and are more likely to have caregiver responsibilities for children or elderly family members, just to name a few, as well as systemic barriers.

Massachusetts is Trying to Close the Wage Gap

Over the past several years, Massachusetts has implemented a number of measures to close the pay gap in the state between men and women. Massachusetts amended the state’s Equal Pay Act in 2018.  The amendments expanded the definition of what constitutes comparable work and limits the legal justifications for any disparities between women and men who perform comparable work. Under the statute, employees of different genders who are performing comparable work must have equal pay, unless one of six narrow justifications under the law justifies the disparity. To read more about that statute and its requirements, you can check out our previous blog post here.

Similarly, in July 2024, Governor Maura Healy signed a Pay Transparency Law.  Under that law, starting in July 2025, employers with 25 or more employees are required to disclose pay range information to both applicants and current employees under certain circumstances, as well as include the pay range— which is the “annual salary or hourly wage range that the covered employer reasonably and in good faith expects to pay for that position at that time” — in all job postings. Additionally, employers with 100 or more employees at any time during the calendar year who are subject to the federal EEO reporting requirements will be required to provide certain wage data and demographic information to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts on an annual or every-other-year basis.

Only time will tell if these measures will be successful in close the pay gap.  Early signs seem to point to the gap slowly closing, at least in some areas of the state.  According to the Boston Women’s Workforce Council, in 2023 women in Boston made $0.79 for every dollar that a man made.  However, that was a $0.09 improvement over 2021.

Next Steps for Employers

Gender is not the only area in which there are pay gaps among employees either.  There are also disparities based on race, color, and other protected classes. Employers should regularly review their pay practices, pay scales, and the amounts paid to each individual employee to ensure that there are not any unlawful pay gaps. Failing to do so could lead to a lawsuit (including a class action lawsuit), which could be costly and damaging to a businesses’ reputation.

Employers with questions about their obligations and/or pay equity audits should consult with labor and employment counsel.