By Joseph De Avila
Lilly Ledbetter, whose fight for equal pay led to a law signed in 2009, has died, according to the production team that made a film about her life. She was 86.
Ledbetter, who retired in 1998, had worked for Goodyear Tire & Rubber for nearly two decades when she found out she was paid less than male co-workers. She filed a formal charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and later filed a lawsuit.
Her lawsuit against Goodyear made it to the Supreme Court, which ruled 5-4 in 2007 that she didn't file the complaint within 180 days of when the discriminatory pay decisions were made.
After the Supreme Court defeat, Ledbetter continued to push Congress to address wage discrepancies between women and men. Congress in 2009 passed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which relaxed time restrictions for the filing of wage discrimination lawsuits.
It was the first piece of legislation that then-President Obama signed into law.
"Lilly Ledbetter never set out to be a trailblazer or a household name. She just wanted to be paid the same as a man for her hard work," Obama said Monday on social media. "Lilly did what so many Americans before her have done: setting her sights high for herself and even higher for her children and grandchildren."
The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations said Ledbetter was a hero for her work pushing for fair pay.
"For her fight against pay discrimination and for justice for our daughters and granddaughters, Lilly Ledbetter's name is synonymous with courage, opportunity and progress," said Democratic Rep. Nancy Pelosi, who was Speaker of the House when the Fair Pay Act of 2009 was passed.
Ledbetter spoke at the Democratic National Convention in 2008 and 2012.
She wrote a memoir about her life in 2012 called "Grace and Grit: My Fight for Equal Pay and Fairness at Goodyear and Beyond."
Actress Patricia Clarkson plays Ledbetter in the new film "Lilly." The film made its world premiere earlier this month.
In a 2008 interview with The Wall Street Journal, Ledbetter encouraged women to advocate for themselves to get fair pay at work.
"Women need to be alert to what they're paid compared with [their] male counterparts. They need to have a mentor, someone who is guiding them. And listen carefully to what is said around them -- don't let anything drop by the wayside," she said.
Write to Joseph De Avila at joseph.deavila@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 14, 2024 11:46 ET (15:46 GMT)
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