American Public Media (APM) MARKETPLACE, May 29, 2007, Tuesday

Copyright 2007 American Public Media

All Rights Reserved

American Public Media

SHOW: APM MARKETPLACE 12:00 AM EST

May 29, 2007 Tuesday

HEADLINE: VICTIM OF DISCRIMINATION? THE CLOCK'S TICKING

http://www.marketplace.org/shows/2007/05/29/PM200705292.html

ANCHORS: KAI RYSSDAL

REPORTERS: NANCY MARSHALL GENZER (WASHINGTON, DC USA)

BODY:

KAI RYSSDAL (HOST)

Say you've been working for the same company for years. One day, you find out you've been discriminated against. Your colleagues were being paid a lot more than you were for all of those years. So you sue. Today, the Supreme Court kept an eye on the clock and the calendar. The Justices ruled that if you waited too long to bring your lawsuit, you're out of luck. Nancy Marshall Genzer reports now from Washington.

NANCY MARSHALL GENZER (REPORTER)

Lilly Ledbetter worked for Goodyear for 19 years. During all that time, she was paid $6,000 a year less than the lowest-paid man doing the same work. Ledbetter sued. Her case went all the way to the Supreme Court. Today, the Court ruled that workers like Ledbetter only have six months from when they were first discriminated against to file a lawsuit. The ruling means Ledbetter will only get six months of back pay, not the 19 years' worth she wanted. Karen Harned of the National Federation of Independent Business says, it's hard for companies to fight lawsuits focusing on decisions they made years ago.

KAREN HARNED (NATIONAL FEDERATION OF INDEPENDENT BUSINESS)

They cannot have the threat of a suit looming years after the fact, in which memories have to be tapped. And it's just very hard, truthfully, to get at the truth decades after.

NANCY MARSHALL GENZER (REPORTER)

But workers may not realize right away that they're being discriminated against. How many of us actually know what the person working next to us is making? Kate Bronfenbrenner teaches industrial labor relations at Cornell.

KATE BRONFENBRENNER (CORNELL UNIVERSITY)

To figure out whether you're discriminated against, you have to have information. You have to do research. You can't do that quickly.

NANCY MARSHALL GENZER (REPORTER)

Some economists say there are workers who do need more time. Gary Chaison is with Clark University.

GARY CHAISON (CLARK UNIVERSITY)

If there are extenuating circumstances, for instance, the person may have been aware that there was pay discrimination, but declined to say anything about it for fear that they would be denied future promotions or opportunities for training.

NANCY MARSHALL GENZER (REPORTER)

Chaison says, for starters, Congress should update laws written decades ago. In Washington, I'm Nancy Marshall Genzer, for Marketplace.

KAI RYSSDAL (HOST)

It's not quite a glut, but there's about to be more gas coming to market. Five big refineries in Texas, Louisiana and Delaware came back online today. That should ease some of the squeeze motorists have been feeling at the pumps. And, in fact, crude dumped more than $2 today, down about three percent to $63.15 a barrel in New York.