Obama Takes Aim at Employers

Obama pulls the trigger

Today Obama signed into law the Fair Pay Act making it easier for all workers to win pay-discrimination lawsuits based on sex, race, religion, national origin, age or disability.   Those who will benefit from this new law can thank Lilly Ledbetter an Alabama worker who stood up to Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. She sued the company after she discovered that for almost two decades she had been paid less than her male counterparts. She claimed the discrimination caused her salary to be 15 percent to 40 percent lower than what her male colleagues earned.

The new law has many employers very nervous and legal council who once raced against the clock learned time has run out.  Employers are bracing for an expected jump in the number of cases coming out of the wood work.  Unfair business practices that are decades old have come full circle and its time to pay up. The law allows for new claims to be filed each time a worker’s job is affected by an act of discrimination. The anticipated increase in legal and administrative costs for American companies will be astronomical!

“Bottom line if you don’t want to be sued don’t discriminate.”