Overruling the High Court on Equal Pay

Two months after the Supreme Court turned back the clock on equal pay protections, a bipartisan contingent of senators led by Edward Kennedy, a Democrat from Massachusetts, and Arlen Specter, a Republican from Pennsylvania, introduced a bill today to reverse the court decision.

In May, the Supreme Court ruled that employees have only 180 days to sue an employer for pay discrimination. In her dissent, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said the decision was not "in tune with the realities of the workplace."

Considering it can sometimes take years before you even learn your co-workers' salaries and even longer to build an air-tight discrimination case, six months seems a ludicrously short time frame. (Also in agreement was Portfolio.com's Career Minded columnist Joanne Gordon, who dedicated a June column to the issue.)

But the majority opinion was that the original law mandated the 180-day limitation, and so it would take an act of Congress to change it.

Rather than starting the clock when the employer decides to compensate employees unequally, the new bill, entitled the Fair Pay Restoration Act, would restart the 180-day litigation window with each discriminatory paycheck. In a concession to employers, the bill would also limit the amount of back-pay employers could be forced to cough up.

Despite bipartisan support, a crowded agenda for the fall and the start of summer recess next Monday means the bill is unlikely to see floor action anytime soon.

by Genevieve Smith