Way back in 1979, a woman named Lilly was working as an overnight manager for Goodyear. It was a great job for a woman at that time and Lilly did well — she was named “Top Performer” in 1996 by Goodyear.
But a while after that Lilly received an anonymous note saying she was being paid 40 percent less than her male colleagues. It was devastating for her to consider the amounts lost to her wages, retirement and savings over 19 years at Goodyear.
So Lilly sued the company and won $360,000 in compensation. But Goodyear appealed and the case went to the Supreme Court.
The court ruled 5-4 in Goodyear’s favor, saying that Lilly had missed a six-month deadline back in her first year, after which she could not make a claim of unequal pay. Lilly never even knew she was being paid 40 percent less for another 19 years. She never collected a penny.
Sometimes justice prevails. In 2009, Congress passed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. It guaranteed the right to sue within six months of the last discriminatory paycheck. My Congressman, Erik Paulsen, voted against the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.
According to Emily’s List, in 2015 Rep. Paulsen voted against a motion to protect women from pay discrimination and in 2013 voted to block the Paycheck Fairness Act from coming to the floor for the House of Representatives.
Equal pay for equal work is a simple concept. It’s fair and it’s very American.
Our congressional district needs a new representative who will insist on justice for women in the workplace. We need to unseat Rep. Paulsen in 2018.
Julie Wiese, Chaska
Chaska Herald, December 8, 2017