The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act today became the first bill signed into law by President Obama the New York Times reports, "Obama Signs Equal-Pay Legislation." The law's namesake, Lilly Ledbetter, was cheated out of money she earned during nearly 20 years of employment by Goodyear Tire. She went to trial, a jury awarded her all of her back pay along with the damages. But the United States Supreme Court took it away, ruling two years ago that she waited too long in filing her suit. The bill signed by President Obama today reverses that wrong and unjust decision. As the president said this afternoon:
“It is fitting that with the very first bill I sign — the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act — we are upholding one of this nation’s first principles: that we are all created equal and each deserve a chance to pursue our own version of happiness.”
