EEO/Affirmative Action Articles
Affirmative action compliance essential in stimulus era
Rochester Business Journal
October 22, 2010
© HR Works, Inc.
As the folks in Washington try to fulfill their promise of “accountability,” the government is more motivated than ever to aggressively enforce affirmative action rules.
Read more: Affirmative action compliance essential in stimulus era
New law gives women better chance at equal pay
Published in the Democrat & Chronicle
April 5, 2009
© 2009 Democrat & Chronicle
In 1979, Lilly Ledbetter accepted a supervisor job at Goodyear Tire and Rubber. Of the four supervisors at the plant, Ledbetter was the only female. In 1998, she received an anonymous note listing the four supervisors' salaries. Hers was $3,727 per month. Her male counterparts were being paid between $4,286 and $5,236.
Ledbetter sued and was initially awarded $3.8 million, but Goodyear appealed. By 2006, her case reached the Supreme Court, which determined that Ledbetter had not filed her complaint in a timely manner. The justices interpreted the law as providing 180 days from the date of a decision affecting compensation to file a complaint.
The flaw in this logic is that women often don't know they're being paid less than their male counterparts. Many corporations prohibit employees from discussing compensation and impose disciplinary action on those who do.
