In a huge victory for working families, the Senate passed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act by a vote of 61 to 36, Thurs. Jan. 22. Because the House already passed the same bill earlier this month, supporters of the measure expect it to go to the president's desk for a signature soon. During the campaign, President Obama pledged his support for passage of the bill.

The bill is named after Lilly Ledbetter, a former 19-year employee/supervisor at Goodyear Tire who initially won a lawsuit against that company for pay discrimination. After many years of working at the company, Ledbetter accidentally learned that she had been paid less than her male counterparts with similar job titles, experience and performance reviews.

A jury agreed with her argument and awarded her back pay and damages. The company appealed the decision, and in 2007 the US Supreme Court, by a slim majority of its conservative members, ruled that she was legally required to have filed the lawsuit within six months of the first discriminatory paycheck. This, despite the fact that she did not learn about the discrimination until years later and could not have realistically filed suit.

The Supreme Court overturned the jury's decision, essentially signaling to employers that they can get away with discrimination if they hide it long enough. Pay discrimination affects more than just the wages of one worker, supporters of the bill added. Retirement plans and Social Security benefits, which depend on contributions as a percentage of the worker's paycheck are also impacted. 'Once you're discriminated against,' Ledbetter, who had become an activist on behalf of the fair pay bill, told reporters, 'it's impossible to catch up.'

In her dissenting opinion, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote that lawmakers could rectify the situation by passing a law that clarifies the statute of limitations and gives victims of discrimination six months after every discriminatory act to file suit.

This clarification is the substance of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.

In a teleconference with reporters earlier in the month, Ledbetter said, '[The Supreme Court's] ruling just doesn't make sense in the real world. [Employers] will not be punished for pay discrimination, if they do it long enough and cover it up well enough.'

Upon passage of the bill in the Senate, Ledbetter said, “I am deeply heartened by the Senate passage of the bill that bears my name. It is an enormous victory for the women across the country who are victims of pay discrimination.”

In a statement for the press, Leadership Conference on Civil Rights President Wade Henderson applauded the Senate's action. 'The Senate passage of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act assures Americans in these hard economic times that the rights of workers are critically important and protected,' he said.

Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), who managed the bill in the Senate, reminded her colleagues that despite equal pay laws already on the books, week enforcement has allowed disparities in pay between men and women to continue.

“We say to women today who earn only 77 cents for every dollar her male counterpart makes, it’s time for a new day. We say to women of color who make even less it’s time for a new law. And we say to all who have suffered wage discrimination it’s truly time for a change,” said Mikulski.

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) added, “Anyone who puts in a fair day’s work should receive a fair day’s pay. Today’s vote is a major step toward ending pay discrimination in the workplace and a signal to all Americans that a new era of genuine change has begun for our country.”

Senator Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said, “At a time when our economy is in trouble and American families are hurting, putting added burdens on working women is just plain wrong.”

National Organization for Women President Kim Gandy celebrated the moment also. 'The Ledbetter bill will allow redress for workers with the energy and willpower to seek redress in the courts, but we have a long way to go before we have fair pay for women, and laws with real teeth,' she stated.

Gandy added, however, that the passage of this bill is only the first step. Passage in the Senate of the Paycheck Fairness Act, which would go further and close loopholes that allow employers to pay men and women discriminatorily and provides consequences for that discrimination, is also needed, Gandy stated.

The House passed that bill earlier this month.

The gender wage gap does not just affect women workers. It harms families, husbands and sons. Women workers are mothers, sisters, grandmothers, daughters, aunts, and cousins upon whom working families depend for financial security. Fair pay is in everyone's interest.