Honoring the Legacy of Lilly Ledbetter

Caption: Deborah J. Vagins and Lilly Ledbetter on Capitol Hill, Washington DC for the 10th anniversary of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act in 2019

Today, I want to celebrate the incredible life and legacy of my dear friend, Lilly Ledbetter, a champion for women’s rights and trailblazer in the fight for workplace fairness. We honor her immeasurable contributions on the 16th anniversary of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and the first anniversary of this law since Lilly’s sad passing last fall.

Sixteen years ago, I joined her and pay equity advocates from the across the country at the White House while then President Obama signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. This law restored the rights of employees to have their day in court for ongoing wage discrimination taken away by the Supreme Court in the Ledbetter v. Goodyear case.

Lilly Ledbetter served as a manager at the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. plant in Gadsden, Alabama. After two decades of working there, she was slipped an anonymous note that indicated she had been paid significantly less than her three male colleagues over the course of her career. She challenged this, and in 2007, Lilly’s lawsuit ended with the Supreme Court overturning her lower court victory and jury award of over 3 million dollars. Ignoring the egregious facts in the case, five justices said employees had to file a complaint within six months of an employer’s first decision to discriminate, whether the employee knows about the discrimination or not.

In dissent, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote that the ruling made no sense in the real world. Such an absurd decision needed a Congressional response. With Lilly leading the way, and with the support of advocates nationwide and champions in Congress, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act was introduced and ultimately passed.

This law was such an important victory for workers and gave employees who were experiencing ongoing pay discrimination their day in court. When we worked on her bill, many people thought equal pay was an issue that had been resolved in the 1960s. Today, pay equity is an integral part of the national conversation, but that was not the case in 2007. A generation of people have come to understand the need for pay equity as part of the national dialogue and a true kitchen table issue with many contributing factors, thanks to Lilly and the campaign designed two decades ago.

However, the law did not give women new tools to combat the wage gap itself. So Lilly turned her time and energy to other pay equity bills, like the Paycheck Fairness Act, a bill that would update the Equal Pay Act of 1963 to give workers stronger enforcement tools and remedies.

She was tireless. She never saw a dime or any justice for what happened to her, but she kept traveling the country, often at enormous personal sacrifice, speaking out and championing the cause of wage justice for all. She did this, not because she benefited from it, but because she didn’t want what happened to her to happen to anyone else. With all women working earning on average 75 cents for every dollar paid to their male counterparts — and the pay gaps even wider for women of color — it reminds us our work is still far from finished.

In a world where women continue to struggle to make ends meet and where the Trump Administration is rolling back protections and progress every day, Lilly showed us that the power of one woman’s unflagging commitment to justice can make a difference. She refused to be silent in the face of injustice and her courage touched the lives of millions of American women.

As another anniversary closes on the signing of her law, we honor her memory by continuing the fight for workplace fairness. At this time, we know the challenge is great, but if Lilly’s story teaches us anything it is to never give up. Lilly was a courageous and selfless advocate and true hero. I was lucky to call her friend.