The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act: What Does It Mean For Your Business?

President Obama’s first piece of legislation, the ​“Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act,” did not create any ​“new” law prohibiting salary discrimination. What it did do was extend the time limit for employees to make a salary discrimination claim, effectively eviscerating the statute of limitations.

The publicity generated by the Ledbetter Act alone will likely increase the number of salary discrimination claims. Also, employers may now be forced to defend salary decisions which they made years ago, when the managers who made those decisions are long gone and records have disappeared or been lost.

There are a number of proactive measures to arm oneself for the salary claims that may come later. Kelley Drye’s Labor and Employment group has prepared this advisory which includes a number of practical things that you can do to protect yourself from exposure to these lawsuits.