(S.181) On the motion to table (kill) the Specter of Pennsylvania Amendment offered to the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009. The Specter Amendment would have clarified that employers still had available to them various defenses relating to the statute of limitations in wage discrimination suits.
senate Roll Call 8
Jan 22, 2009
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This was a vote on a motion to table (kill) an amendment offered by Sen. Specter (R-PA) to S.181, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, a bill that changed the rules regarding the statute of limitations for wage discrimination suits. The Specter Amendment would have first clarified that employers would still have available to them various defenses relating to the statute of limitations against a law suit claiming wage discrimination: Specter noted that Justice Ginsburg’s dissent in the Ledbetter case specifically pointed out that these traditional defenses were still available. He said that specifying their availability in the language of the bill “makes it conclusive . . . and allows a reasonable defense by the employer.” The Specter Amendment also sought to eliminate wording in S.181 that would allow employees to file employment discrimination suits based on “other practices'' beside unequal pay. Specter argued “(T)he bill does not define the phrase and . . . that it is going to promote extensive litigation . . . .” He suggested that he would be willing to consider specifying in the bill some other areas that might serve as grounds for employment discrimination suits, such promotion and tenure, but that using a vague term like “other practices” opened things up too much. |
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