Right after midnight today, Chris Rizo, reporter for LEGAL NEWSLINE, published his article on "Ledbetter" - that is, the House's passage of H.R. 11 or the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. Yes, the issues involved in that possible legislation on wage discrimination are urgent enough to demand the spotlight, even on a weekend.
"Ledbetter" started out as the lawsuit "Lilly Ledbetter v Goodyear Tire & Rubber." It was about alleged wage discrimination which took place years before the plaintiff, who was then retired and receiving a company pension, filed the complaint. As Rizo notes, "A jury sided with Ledbetter." In fact, it awarded her a whopping $3.3 million in compensatory and punitive damages. That jury did not view as a deal-breaker that the alleged discrimination happened not only a long time ago but when business practices might have been different. "A different time" was one of the key arguments of the defense attorneys in the landmark Rhode Island lead paint public nuisance litigation.
Both the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the jury verdict. They ruled that the plaintiff had waited too long to sue. The U.S. SC specified time limits of 180 days, or in some situations 300 days, between the occurrence of the alleged wage discrimination and the filing of the suit.
Liberal groups, ranging from organized labor to the plaintiff bar, immediately decried the U.S. Supreme Court ruling. No surprise, the matter found its way to the 111th Congress, on its first day. If the Act, which passed the House 247-171, also passes the Senate, every employer is fair game for a God's Plenty of lawsuits. Not only does the Act remove any statue of limitations. It also allows a company to be sued for discrimination which, at the time, might have been unintentional. That whole "at the time" defense becomes no longer a factor for the jury to consider.
In RIzo's coverage, I am quoted. I opine, "The 111th Congress, if the bill passes the Senate, handed the plaintiff bar gold that they don't even have to prospect or dig up. Every present or future employee with a grievance, no matter how far back it dates, can sue."
Here clearly is an example of individual rights plowing over the common good. That's the message of Philip Howard's new book "Life Without Lawyers: Liberating Americans from Too Much Law." Back in 1994, Howard, head of Common Good, published the seminal "The Death of Common Sense: How Law Is Suffocating America." If America doesn't take to heart Howard's new message, business doesn't have a prayer of making it in this volatile, globally competitive era.
I am unable to understand this post. But well some points are useful for me.
Posted by: Coroetepottah | January 20, 2009 at 04:59 PM