So Long Statute of Limitations, Hello Lily Ledbetter
I may have to convince myself to get rid of my television because it seems like everytime I turn it on I get to see President Obama making yet another asinine decision. Truly, it’s almost not worth the annoyance it causes me.
Lo and behold, I turn on the tube this morning and there’s Mr. President, all grins, signing into law the Lily Ledbetter Act. What the Ledbetter Act will do, essentially, is nearly eliminate the time limits imposed on Title VII discrimination claims. According to Title VII, a wronged employee had 180 days from the discriminatory action to file a claim against their employer. The Ledbetter Act states that each time a paycheck is issued, the discriminatory act occurs and the statute of limitations begins anew.
Andrew Grossman points out that there are more moderate solutions that would solve the issue with Title VII:
[One] option is to augment the current limitations period with a carefully drafted “discovery rule” so that the time limit on suing begins running only when an employee reasonably suspects, or should reasonably suspect, that he or she has been discriminated against.
http://www.heritage.org/Research/LegalIssues/wm2236.cfm
It seems to me that that would solve the problem without giving people an endless amount of time in which to file their claims. I’m guessing that sort of provision won’t line the pockets of the trial attorneys so many Democrats are beholden to.
Get ready for some serious discrimination suits to come crawling out of the woodwork. I’m so glad too, a more litigous society is just what we need. Feminists need not complain when companies begin screening employees for those who seem more likely to file lawsuits–they brought this on themselves.
February 17, 2009 at 7:58 pm
“Lo and behold, I turn on the tube this morning and there’s Mr. President, all grins, signing into law the Lily Ledbetter Act. What the Ledbetter Act will do, essentially, is nearly eliminate the time limits imposed on Title VII discrimination claims. According to Title VII, a wronged employee had 180 days from the discriminatory action to file a claim against their employer. The Ledbetter Act states that each time a paycheck is issued, the discriminatory act occurs and the statute of limitations begins anew.”
This comment is a bit of hyperbole. Time limits on the discrimination claim are not eliminated by the act. Each pay check issued resets the clock. Ergo, if successive paychecks correct the problem, the statue of limitations can expire on the initial problem check. So if the pay discrimination reoccurs, the limitation time is reset. If it doesn’t, it won’t. [Have you endeavored to find out if the alternative you mention above was presented and, if it was, how it was evaluated in respect to the option eventually chosen?]
I was excited to find a conservative female voice, but I am disappointed to see that, like so many bloggers, (left, right and other), what is really to be had here are hyperbole, universal quantifiers, mild ad hominem attacks and generalizations rather than principled, conservative reasoning.
Please improve! Qualify your statements. Apply the same razor to Left and Right. Please use more existential rather than universal quantifiers. You’re not omniscient. Offer more positive goals. Define yourself more by what you want to achieve and less by your differences with the Left and democrats or whomever. In fact, pull yourself out of polarized thinking as much as possible and talk about the world you want to see. Then your ideas will acquire better rigor and grace and substance. And your blog won’t be just another political blog. Unless, of course, that’s what you want it to be.
February 17, 2009 at 9:32 pm
It seems that you are very disappointed with my performance. That cannot be helped. I am not interested in devoting hours to crafting perfect arguments that all of 10 people may read. My blog is exactly what I want it to be–a place for me to vent about something that annoys me. It appears it serves the same function for you, as you’ve now vented about the things that annoy you
If you are interested in conservative female voices that blog more in depth, you should check out these:
http://sistertoldjah.com/
http://meganmcardle.theatlantic.com/
http://culture11.com/blogs/ladyblog/
If I may respond to your suggestion that I define myself more by what I want to achieve; this little blog is not on the priority list by far. I vent, I post, I move on to the things I am actually trying to accomplish, but thanks for the life coaching.