This document discusses Lilly Ledbetter, a woman who sued her former employer for pay discrimination after discovering upon her retirement that she had been paid less than male colleagues over the course of her career. It provides background on Ledbetter's case and career, the legal issues around equal pay and compensation comparisons, and the impacts of the resulting Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009. The document advocates for HR to take a strategic role in developing fair and equitable compensation practices through job analysis, pay reviews, and addressing inconsistencies to prevent discrimination.

1. Are There Lilly Ledbetters
In Your Workforce?
Jude Sotherlund
August 30, 2010
sotherlundconsulting@msn.com

2. YOU HR Generalist
EEO/AA
Legal
Talent Development
Management
Compensation
Benefits
Work-Life

3. What Matters Most to Employees?
• Job Security
• Benefits
• Opportunities to use Skills/Abilities
• Organization’s Financial Stability and the
Work Itself
• Compensation
• HR must own these issues.
Source: 2010 SHRM Employee Job Satisfaction Survey

4. What is ―Ganas ?” (Gah- nahs)
• Spanish word with no literal translation.
• Speaks to the concept of inspired motivation.
• Exceeds the legal minimum of the law.
• Encourages individuals to align character and
values with skills and business sense.
• Accepts and includes; develops and promotes.
• Taps into individual sense of calling, moral
obligations.

5. Robert Wood Johnson
Johnson & Johnson Credo
Written in 1943:
“Everyone must be considered as an
individual. We must respect their dignity and
recognize their merit…There must be equal
opportunity for employment, development and
advancement for those qualified. We must
provide competent management, and their
actions must be just and ethical.”

6. What is Heartfelt Leadership?
• Leading…not simply managing.
―Heartfelt leaders are not afraid to go it alone, regardless
of industry or legal standards. Caring is at their core.
They not only envision how things should be, but show
the ability to communicate and navigate toward that
goal, forging consensus and buy-in from executives and
senior managers who might be resistant or even
recalcitrant.”
Leading with Your Heart, Diversity and
Ganas for Inspired Inclusion
• Lilly Ledbetter Case.

7. Underlying Career Markers or Makers
• Hire Date
• Starting Salary, Title, Job Code and Unit
• Leave of Absences (Medical, Pregnancy, Other)
• Performance Ratings/Rankings
• Promotions, Development and Succession
• Salary, Remuneration, and Benefits
• Charges and Complaints
• Assignments and Reassignments

8. The Lilly Ledbetter Issues
• Quid pro quo Sexual Harassment
• Hostile Work Environment
• Performance Management Concerns
• Compensation Complaint
• Lay-Offs/Early-Retirement
• Age Discrimination Complaint

9. Who Is Lilly Ledbetter?
• 71 year old mother, grandmother.
• Worked for a Fortune 500 for almost 20 years.
• Overnight supervisor (7 pm – 7 am).
• Lilly Ledbetter Obama Campaign
as
Joe the Plumber McCain Campaign

10. Sexual Harassment’s
Workplace Effects
• Feeling one’s personal life scrutinized.
• Defamation of character, reputation.
• Loss of trust in people occupying similar
position.
• Feeling ostracized from professional or
workforce circles/groups.
• Weakening of support network.

11. Performance Management and HR
• Ratings and Rankings
• Narratives
• Consistency
• Higher Level Concurrence
• Discussions and Recordkeeping

12. Ledbetter and Performance
• Ledbetter received periodic pay raises.
• Received Special Performance Award in
1996.
• Company stated performance was not on par
with peers (male supervisors).
• Ledbetter alleged she was given poor
evaluations due to her gender and that
there was falsification of records.
• Performance links to pay.

13. Ledbetter’s Compensation
• Signed an employment contract.
• Testified she had heard that she was
being paid less than others, but had no
documentation.
• At time of retirement, letter in mailbox
with salary comparisons with 3 other male
supervisors on different shifts.
• Pay disparity was the root of the lawsuit
and Supreme Court decision.

14. Ledbetter’s Complexities
• Secrecy vs. Transparency
• Residuals of Sexual Harassment Complaint
• Hostile Work Environment
• Continuous Reorganizations, Realignments
• Performance Management Issues
• Compensation out of Guideline Issues
• Complexity of Compensation Decisions– the
Retroactive Review

15. Source: Leading with Your Heart, Diversity and Ganas for
Inspired Inclusion. SHRM, 2010

16. Ledbetter’s Complexities
Plant
Manager
Business
Center
Manager
Section Section Section Section
4 Area Managers (1@shift)
Production Auditor (Mgmt)
Production Specialist (Mgmt)
Unionized Production Workforce

17. Legal Nondiscrimination Standards
• Equal Pay Act of 1963 forbids wage
discrimination on the basis of gender.
• Men and women in the same workplace are
performing the same work.
• The jobs being performed are equal in
-- Skill
-- Effort
-- Responsibility
-- Under similar working conditions

18. Legal Nondiscrimination Standards
The law provides (in part) that:, except where
such payment is made pursuant to (i) a seniority
system; (ii) a merit system; (iii) a system which
measures earnings by quantity or quality of
production; or (iv) a differential based on any
other factor other than sex [ . . . . ]

19. Legal Nondiscrimination Standards
• Jobs do not need to be identical, but
substantially equal.
• Job titles do not prevail.
• Applies to base pay, overtime pay,
bonuses, stock options and grants, profit
sharing, and all forms of benefits and
perquisites.

20. PayMeNow Company
TITLE RACE/GENDER STARTING PERFORMANCE MERIT
SALARY RATING INCREASE
Systems Caucasian/ Male $32,500 2 3%
Administrator I
Systems Black/Male $28,500 1 2%
Administrator I
Systems Caucasian/Female $29,500 2 2%
Administrator I
Note: The example is at the start of three individuals’ careers. Imagine the
variations that can occur over time if not reviewed.
Source: When Pay Plans Go Wrong, WorldatWork

21. Grade 14 – Market Analysts (Salary Range $54,000 - $61,000)
Identifier Race Gender Time/Job Seniority Time/Gra Perf.Rate Salary
A W M 4.5 9.5 yrs. 2.7 2 $62,000
B W M 3.9 8.5 yrs. 2.8 3 $61,000
C W M 2.9 7.9 yrs. 2.5 1 $61,000
D A/PI M 4.5 8 yrs. 2.8 2 $59,000
E W F 3.9 7.5 yrs. 2.8 2 $58,350
F W F 5.0 10 yrs. 3.0 2 $57,000
G W M 4.0 7.4 yrs. 2.7 3 $56,500
H H M 2.0 6.5 yrs. 2.0 1 $56,500
I W F 4.2 7.0 yrs. 3.5 2 $56,000
J B M 3.5 5.0 yrs 1.5 2 $56,000
K H F 4.7 8 yrs. 3.0 3 $55,500
L A/PI M 4.0 7.0 yrs. 3.0 3 $55,100
M W M 3.8 7.1 yrs. 2.0 2 $55,000
N W F 4.0 6.5 yrs. 0.9 3 $54,900
O W M 0.7 0.7 yrs. 0.7 2 $54,600
P W F 0.6 0.6 yrs. 0.6 3 $53,300
Q A/PI F 0.7 0.7 yrs. 0.7 3 $53,200
.
Source:, WorldatWorkWhen Pay Plans Go Wrong

22. Compensation Comparisons
• Review Small Numbers for Legal
Justifications for Differentiations.
• Statistical Analysis when Large Numbers for
Comparison (> 20 employees).
• Ensure Integrity of Data in Database.
• Choose Appropriate Fields.
• Perform Regression Analyses.
• Investigate and Remedy if Necessary.

23. Merits of Ledbetter’s Case
• Filed lawsuit in November 1999 after
retirement.
• District Court denied company’s motion for
judgment.
• Found in favor of Ledbetter. Recommended
$223,776 in back pay, $4,662 for mental
anguish, and $3.2M in punitive damages.
• Company renewed its motion for judgment
stating Ledbetter’s pay claim was time-
barred as most allegations took
place over 180 days prior.

24. Legal Wrangling of Case
• Actions from February 1998 forward met
filing deadline.
• Motions filed and case worked its way to
Supreme Court.
• Supreme Court majority found in favor of
company stating that employees can only
file a wage-discrimination complaint
within 180 days of when the payroll
decision was made. [May 29, 2007]

25. Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act
• Signed January 29, 2009.
• States 180-day statutory limit for filing pay
discrimination starts with each paycheck
received.
• Statute of limitations extended; retirees may
file within 180-days of each new
annuity check from employer as well.
• Employers may be liable for compensation
discrimination for decades after an
alleged act of misconduct.

26. Long-Term Impacts
of the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act
An unlawful employment practice occurs with
respect to disparate pay when:
1. A discriminatory compensation decision or
practice is adopted;
2. An individual becomes subject to such a
discriminatory practice; or
3. An individual becomes affected by
application of a discriminatory decision or
practice.

27. Paycheck Fairness Act –
The Next Frontier
• First introduced in 2002 by Senator Tom
Daschle. Reintroduced subsequently.
• Amends Equal Pay Act of 1963.
• Requires amongst other things non- gender
reasons for differences in wages.
• Focuses on ―other factor other than sex.‖
• Targets prior salary or ―market forces.‖
• Allows compensatory damages and shifts
burden to employer.

28. Paycheck Fairness Act –
The Next Frontier
• Calls for a study of EEOC data and seeks
employer guidelines for evaluating jobs
for comparison.
• Allows prevailing plaintiffs to recover
compensatory and punitive damages.
• Changes class actions from ―opt in‖ to ―opt
out‖ status.
• Prohibits employer retaliation.
• Increases EEOC training, research and
education.

29. Fair Pay Act - Equivalent Jobs
• Sponsored by Sen. Tom Harkin and
Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton.
• Seeks to remedy wage discrimination
for those working in female-dominated or
minority-dominated jobs.
• Equal Pay for Equivalent Work.
• Comparable Worth.

30. Equivalent Jobs
• State Experiences
• Ontario Experience
• Job Evaluation Systems
• Comparable Worth
“Comparable worth is viewed by many as the
major civil rights issue of the 1980’s.”
U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (June 1984)

31. Equivalent Jobs
Sex Class Title Monthly Salary Monthly Gap
Male Delivery Driver $1,382
Female Clerk Typist 2 $1,115 -$267
Male Sr. Correct.Agnt $1,961
Female Registered Nurse $1,723 -$461
NOTE: These jobs were deemed equivalent due to an evaluation of their level
of skills, effort, responsibility and working conditions of women’s jobs
compared to men’s jobs. Equivalent will vary by employer.

32. HR’s Strategic Role
• Develop linkages and initiate discussions.
• Tap into the ganas of all involved.
• Engage management.
• Monitor and review ―similar‖ jobs.
• Target inconsistencies.
• Thorough complaint investigations.
• Appropriate remedies where warranted.
• Re-engage.

33. HR’s Emerging Role
• Develop linkages and initiate discussions
regarding job evaluation system in use.
• Think strategically.
• Engage management.
• Do preliminary analysis.
• Tap into the ganas of all involved.

34. HEARTFELT LEADERS
• Care and show they care.
• Lead by example.
• Infuse, involve and include all others.
• Personally take on mantle of ownership.
• Don’t look down—look up to vision and ideals.
• Not bound by the rigidity of laws, but
transcend to the spirit of a higher purpose.
• Have an abundance of ―ganas.”

35. “Indeed, our motivation, our ganas, is the key
to our success as individuals and as a nation.
Working together, we can unleash the
creativity and productivity of all our workers.
After all, we are connected – business to
business, citizen-by-citizen, and neighbor to
neighbor.”