The Senate approved a measure Thursday, January 22, 2009 that would make it easier for workers to sue for pay discrimination. It will now likely be among the first that President Barack Obama signs into law.

The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which passed 61-36, would restart the statute of limitations for filing a lawsuit each time an employee receives a paycheck that has been diminished by discrimination. It was part of a larger pay discrimination package that the House approved January 9.

The Senate decided to act just on the Ledbetter bill, which means it now must go back to the House, where quick approval is expected. Obama and first lady Michelle Obama made the Ledbetter bill a centerpiece of campaign events designed to highlight women’s issues.

Ledbetter was the plaintiff in a controversial 2007 Supreme Court case and has become an icon for the fair-pay movement. She appeared Thursday at a Capitol Hill press conference and traveled with President Obama and Vice President Joseph Biden on their train trip to Washington before the inauguration Tuesday.

Ledbetter, a former supervisor at a Goodyear Tire & Rubber plant in Alabama, sued the company for paying her less than her male counterparts for 20 years.

Corporate advocates opposed the bill, contending that it undermines the statute of limitations in civil rights law and would foster costly lawsuits at a time when businesses are coping with the recession.

The Ledbetter bill was originally introduced in the previous Congress. It was approved by the House in 2007 but was blocked by a Senate filibuster in 2008.

This week, Senate Republicans offered several amendments that would narrow the scope of the lawsuit filing deadline, limit suits just to those involving pay, and clarify that only an employee, rather than anyone “affected by” pay discrimination, could sue. They were all defeated.

The Supreme Court held, 5-4, that Ledbetter should have filed her claim within 180 days of the initial discriminatory decision rather than nearly two decades later. She said she didn’t realize the pay discrepancy existed until a colleague placed an anonymous note in her mailbox many years later.

November’s elections put Senate Democrats in a much stronger position to push Ledbetter’s cause. The party’s majority increased to at least 58, with a Minnesota seat still in dispute. Last week, the Senate easily overcame a filibuster when Democrats agreed to consider amendments.

With the Ledbetter bill certain to become law, HR professionals need to be prepared to address pay questions.

It also might be necessary to keep copious records of compensation decisions indefinitely.

Source: Reposted from Workforce.com online article written by  Mark Schoeff Jr.