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SUPREME COURT CLARIFIES STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS IN PAY DISCRIMINATION CLAIMS

Schipper | 08 June, 2007 15:54

In its May 29, 2007 decision in Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., the Supreme Court ruled that pay discrimination claims are not actionable when the discriminatory pay decision occurred before the 180 day (or 300 days in states with deferral agencies) statutory charge-filing period, despite the effects of such decision still being prevalent within the statutory time frame.

In this case Ledbetter charged that Goodyear gave her lower raises than men during 1980's based on her gender. In the 1990's she was given raises equal to or greater than men, but this never allowed for her salary to become equal to her male counterparts. Ledbetter filed a charge with the EEOC on March 25, 1998.

The Supreme Court held that, "[b]ecause the later effects of past discrimination do not restart the clock for filing an EEOC charge, Ledbetter's claim is untimely." The Court also found important the idea that the discriminatory intent is the trigger behind the EEOC charging period. While Ledbetter's pay reflected the past discriminatory acts, it did not have a discriminatory intent. Therefore, a new charging period did not begin with each receipt of pay from Goodyear.

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