U.S. Supreme Court
In Ledbetter, the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to decide how far back a plaintiff can reach when seeking damages in a disparate pay claim under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. At trial, Ledbetter persuaded the court to allow into evidence all of her pay reviews since her hire in 1979. At issue is whether the statute of limitations for these claims should begin when the alleged discrimination occurs, or instead should begin when the claimant realizes the consequences of the alleged discrimination. On behalf of its members, the National Federation of Independent Business' Legal Foundation urged the court to uphold that the statute of limitations begins to run when the alleged discrimination occurs. NFIB argued that the alternative would effectively eliminate any meaningful period of limitations by allowing an employee to wait years or even decades to challenge an alleged act of discrimination.
Status: DECIDED. Amicus brief filed in support of Goodyear October 23, 2006. Oral argument held November 27, 2006. Supreme Court upheld statute of limitations May 29, 2007.
