Ledbetter Fair Pay Act Signed; Applies To Religious Discrimination Claims

The Washington Post reports that yesterday President Obama signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 (full text). The law amends Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act (as well as several other anti-discrimination statutes) so that the statute of limitations period resets every time a person receives a paycheck impacted by unlawful employment discrimination. While the remarks of the President and others at the signing ceremony (full text) emphasized gender discrimination, the new limitation period period also applies to Title VII religious discrimination claims. The new statute was Congress' reaction to a 2007 U.S. Supreme Court decision interpreting the Title VII statute of limitations narrowly. (See prior posting.)