111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 181 

AN ACT 

To amend title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and 

the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, 

and to modify the operation of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 

to clarify that a discriminatory compensation decision 

or other practice that is unlawful under such Acts occurs 

each time compensation is paid pursuant to the discriminatory compensation decision or other practice, and for 

other purposes. 
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1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Lilly Ledbetter Fair 

5 Pay Act of 2009’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) The Supreme Court in Ledbetter v. Good9 year Tire & Rubber Co., 550 U.S. 618 (2007), sig10 nificantly impairs statutory protections against dis11 crimination in compensation that Congress estab12 lished and that have been bedrock principles of 

13 American law for decades. The Ledbetter decision 

14 undermines those statutory protections by unduly re15 stricting the time period in which victims of dis16 crimination can challenge and recover for discrimi17 natory compensation decisions or other practices, 

18 contrary to the intent of Congress. 

19 (2) The limitation imposed by the Court on the 

20 filing of discriminatory compensation claims ignores 

21 the reality of wage discrimination and is at odds 

22 with the robust application of the civil rights laws 

23 that Congress intended. 

24 (3) With regard to any charge of discrimination 

25 under any law, nothing in this Act is intended to 
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1 preclude or limit an aggrieved person’s right to in2 troduce evidence of an unlawful employment practice 

3 that has occurred outside the time for filing a 

4 charge of discrimination. 

5 (4) Nothing in this Act is intended to change 

6 current law treatment of when pension distributions 

7 are considered paid. 

8 SEC. 3. DISCRIMINATION IN COMPENSATION BECAUSE OF 

9 RACE, COLOR, RELIGION, SEX, OR NATIONAL 

10 ORIGIN. 

11 Section 706(e) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 

12 U.S.C. 2000e–5(e)) is amended by adding at the end the 

13 following: 

14 ‘‘(3)(A) For purposes of this section, an unlawful em15 ployment practice occurs, with respect to discrimination 

16 in compensation in violation of this title, when a discrimi17 natory compensation decision or other practice is adopted, 

18 when an individual becomes subject to a discriminatory 

19 compensation decision or other practice, or when an indi20 vidual is affected by application of a discriminatory com21 pensation decision or other practice, including each time 

22 wages, benefits, or other compensation is paid, resulting 

23 in whole or in part from such a decision or other practice. 

24 ‘‘(B) In addition to any relief authorized by section 

25 1977A of the Revised Statutes (42 U.S.C. 1981a), liability 
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1 may accrue and an aggrieved person may obtain relief as 

2 provided in subsection (g)(1), including recovery of back 

3 pay for up to two years preceding the filing of the charge, 

4 where the unlawful employment practices that have oc5 curred during the charge filing period are similar or re6 lated to unlawful employment practices with regard to dis7 crimination in compensation that occurred outside the 

8 time for filing a charge.’’. 

9 SEC. 4. DISCRIMINATION IN COMPENSATION BECAUSE OF 

10 AGE. 

11 Section 7(d) of the Age Discrimination in Employ12 ment Act of 1967 (29 U.S.C. 626(d)) is amended— 

13 (1) in the first sentence— 

14 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and 

15 (2) as subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively; 

16 and 

17 (B) by striking ‘‘(d)’’ and inserting 

18 ‘‘(d)(1)’’; 

19 (2) in the third sentence, by striking ‘‘Upon’’ 

20 and inserting the following: 

21 ‘‘(2) Upon’’; and 

22 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(3) For purposes of this section, an unlawful prac24 tice occurs, with respect to discrimination in compensation 

25 in violation of this Act, when a discriminatory compensa-
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1 tion decision or other practice is adopted, when a person 

2 becomes subject to a discriminatory compensation decision 

3 or other practice, or when a person is affected by applica4 tion of a discriminatory compensation decision or other 

5 practice, including each time wages, benefits, or other 

6 compensation is paid, resulting in whole or in part from 

7 such a decision or other practice.’’. 

8 SEC. 5. APPLICATION TO OTHER LAWS. 

9 (a) AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT OF 1990.— 

10 The amendments made by section 3 shall apply to claims 

11 of discrimination in compensation brought under title I 

12 and section 503 of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 

13 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12111 et seq., 12203), pursuant to sec14 tion 107(a) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 12117(a)), which 

15 adopts the powers, remedies, and procedures set forth in 

16 section 706 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 

17 2000e–5). 

18 (b) REHABILITATION ACT OF 1973.—The amend19 ments made by section 3 shall apply to claims of discrimi20 nation in compensation brought under sections 501 and 

21 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 791, 

22 794), pursuant to— 

23 (1) sections 501(g) and 504(d) of such Act (29 

24 U.S.C. 791(g), 794(d)), respectively, which adopt 

25 the standards applied under title I of the Americans 
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1 with Disabilities Act of 1990 for determining wheth2 er a violation has occurred in a complaint alleging 

3 employment discrimination; and 

4 (2) paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 505(a) of 

5 such Act (29 U.S.C. 794a(a)) (as amended by sub6 section (c)). 

7 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

8 (1) REHABILITATION ACT OF 1973.—Section 

9 505(a) of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 

10 794a(a)) is amended— 

11 (A) in paragraph (1), by inserting after 

12 ‘‘(42 U.S.C. 2000e–5 (f) through (k))’’ the fol13 lowing: ‘‘(and the application of section 

14 706(e)(3) (42 U.S.C. 2000e–5(e)(3)) to claims 

15 of discrimination in compensation)’’; and 

16 (B) in paragraph (2), by inserting after 

17 ‘‘1964’’ the following: ‘‘(42 U.S.C. 2000d et 

18 seq.) (and in subsection (e)(3) of section 706 of 

19 such Act (42 U.S.C. 2000e–5), applied to 

20 claims of discrimination in compensation)’’. 

21 (2) CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964.—Section 717 of 

22 the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e–16) 

23 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

24 ‘‘(f) Section 706(e)(3) shall apply to complaints of 

25 discrimination in compensation under this section.’’. 
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1 (3) AGE DISCRIMINATION IN EMPLOYMENT ACT

2 OF 1967.—Section 15(f) of the Age Discrimination in 

3 Employment Act of 1967 (29 U.S.C. 633a(f)) is 

4 amended by striking ‘‘of section’’ and inserting ‘‘of 

5 sections 7(d)(3) and’’. 

6 SEC. 6. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

7 This Act, and the amendments made by this Act, take 

8 effect as if enacted on May 28, 2007 and apply to all 

9 claims of discrimination in compensation under title VII 

10 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e et seq.), 

11 the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (29 

12 U.S.C. 621 et seq.), title I and section 503 of the Ameri13 cans with Disabilities Act of 1990, and sections 501 and 

14 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, that are pending 

15 on or after that date. 

Passed the Senate January 22, 2009. 

Attest: 

Secretary. 
111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 181 

AN ACT 

To amend title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 

tice, and for other purposes. criminatory compensation decision or other practime compensation is paid pursuant to the distice that is unlawful under such Acts occurs each criminatory compensation decision or other pracRehabilitation Act of 1973, to clarify that a disAmericans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and the of 1967, and to modify the operation of the and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act