Key Vote “No” H.R. 11: Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act

On behalf of hundreds of thousands of FreedomWorks members nationwide, I urge you to VOTE NO on H.R. 11: the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.  This bill would negate the Supreme Court’s decision in Ledbetter v Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. by amending the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to permit discrimination claims against employers well outside the current statute of 180 days.

This eliminates almost any statute of limitations in practically all claims of discrimination available under federal law.  Removing the safe-guard of a common-sense statute of limitations is harmful to both employer and employee.  Not resolving issues of discrimination in a timely manner subjects wronged employees to unnecessary hardship and further discrimination.  At the same time, this imposes a severe burden on employers who must defend themselves against decades old claims, requiring massive amounts of record keeping and legal fees.  Years removed from an incident, the facts would become increasingly hard to verify on behalf of either party.

H.R. 11 contains broad language such as allowing anyone “affected by” the discrimination to file a claim.  This could apply not only to family members, but to anyone else who could claim that they were affected in any way, broadening the scope of Title VII and opening the door to ever increasing litigation.  

H.R. 11 presents a radical departure from current antidiscrimination laws.  Doing away with any practical statute of limitations, which has been considered a just practice in courts for centuries, opens the flood gates to a river of lawsuits. In the meantime, the ensuing years will remove witnesses, dissolve businesses, and fade memories creating a tenuous case for either party leading to conjecture, not justice.

We will count your vote on H.R. 11 as a KEY VOTE when calculating the FreedomWorks Economic Freedom Scorecard for 2009. The Economic Freedom Scorecard is used to determine eligibility for the Jefferson Award, which recognizes members of Congress with voting records that support economic freedom.

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