President Obama's first bill to be signed into law was legislation extending the deadlines allowing lawsuits for unequal pay to women.
Perhaps a salve to feminist sensibilities still smarting over his vanquishment of Sec. of State Hillary Clinton during the presidential election, the Lily Ledbetter law is designed to make it easier for people to sue for perceived discrimination dating back decades, according to MSNBC.
The Ledbetter law runs counter to a Supreme Court 5-4 ruling issued in 2007 (Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber) that limited discriminatory pay claims to 180 days from the issuance of a paycheck.
Lily Ledbetter worked for Goodyear Tire & Rubber for 19-years before realizing that she was being paid less than male counterparts at the company. She sued, but the Supreme Court said that her claim of discrimination came too late to be legally viable.
