Lilly Ledbetter, an advocate for women being paid the same as men for doing the same work, died Saturday evening, her family announced in a statement. She was 86 years old.
AL.com was the first to report his death.
According to this media, the press release indicates that she died “peacefully” and “surrounded by her family and loved ones.” Our mother lived an extraordinary life. We truly appreciate your respect for our privacy during this time of mourning. »
Ledbetter’s activism led to first bill signed by Barack Obama after taking office in 2009.
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The law, called the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act, made it easier for workers to sue after discovering what they thought was pay discrimination.
In signing the measure, Obama said it sent the message “that there are no second-class citizens in our workplaces, and that this is not only unfair and illegal, but It’s bad for companies to pay someone less because of their gender, age, or their race or ethnicity, religion, or disability.
Ledbetter worked at Goodyear Tire & Rubber in Gadsden, Alabama, for nearly 20 years before discovering she was paid less than men doing the same job.
The legislation effectively overturned a two-year-old Supreme Court ruling, 5-4, that found Ledbetter did not have grounds to sue because she did not discover the alleged pay discrimination in six months following its first appearance.
The bill signed by Mr. Obama changed the rules so that Ledbetter and workers like her could file a lawsuit within six months of discovering the alleged pay discrimination, regardless of when it began. .
The former president paid tribute to Ledbetter in an article on Alabama mother kept on fighting” until he signed the bill bearing his name.
“Lilly did what so many Americans before her did: set high goals for herself and even higher goals for her children and grandchildren,” Mr. Obama said.
Ledbetter continued his advocacy well after the law was signed.
She received Advertising Week’s Future Is Female Lifetime Achievement Award last week, AL.com noted.
And a film about her life, “Lilly,” starring Patricia Clarkson, just premiered at the Hamptons International Film Festival.
