One of the most renowned women’s rights advocates in the United States will be the featured speaker on Constitution Day at John A. Logan College at 9 a.m. on Sept. 16 in the O’Neil Auditorium.

Lilly Ledbetter is a Jacksonville, Ala. resident who worked for the Goodyear Tire and Rubber company for 20 years as an overnight supervisor only to learn through an anonymous note right before she retired in 1998 that she had been paid substantially less for years than that of her male colleagues holding the same position.

Ledbetter was earning $3,727 per month. By comparison, male supervisors were earning anywhere from $4,286 to $5,236 per month.

Ledbetter filed a complaint with the EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) and Goodyear responded by assigning her to lift heavy tires. She then sued the company, which claimed she received less pay than male workers because she was not as good a worker.

A jury ruled in Ledbetter’s favor, awarding her $3.3 million in compensation, but the amount was later reduced to $300,000. Subsequently, the Supreme Court, by a 5-4 vote, ruled she was not entitled to compensation because she filed her claim more than 180 days after receiving her first discriminatory paycheck.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg dissented from the majority opinion.

She wrote: “A worker knows immediately if she is denied a promotion or transfer, if she is fired or refused employment. And promotions, transfers, hirings and firings are generally public events, known to co-workers. When an employer makes a decision of such open and definitive character, an employee can immediately seek out an explanation and evaluate it for pretext. Compensation disparities, in contrast, are often hidden from sight.”

On Jan. 29, 2009, Ledbetter received some measure of vindication.

President Barack Obama signed into law the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, his first official bill as president. The legislation expanded workers’ rights to sue in this kind of case and relaxed the statute of limitations, restarting the six-month clock every time the worker receives a paycheck.

Ledbetter will not receive any compensation with the legislation – only the personal satisfaction that she made a difference for others.

A mother and grandmother, Ledbetter now makes frequent speaking engagements to supplement a retirement pay that is less than what it should have been had she been paid equal wages.

“I only had two months off last year and it looks like I will only have one month free this year,” she said from her Alabama home Wednesday. “All I want to do when I meet with these young people (at Logan and later SIUC) is tell them my story and advise them not to take anything for granted when they become employed. Research your employer. Stay on top of things. That was my mistake. I was too accepting of my employer. I figured that because we handled so many government contracts, all federal wage guidelines would be followed. I was wrong.”

Ledbetter said it’s important to note that women, on the average, still receive 77 cents on the dollar compared to a man holding the same position.

“And the numbers are even worse for an African-American or Latino woman,” she said. “Cases like mine ought to serve as a wake-up call to all Americans. Nearly 50 years after equal rights laws were passed in this country, we still have inequities.”

Ledbetter added that many women are forced to work two jobs to pay the bills and keep food on the table for their families. Being underpaid in one or both of those jobs is basically a criminal act.

“I don’t think anyone could understand how humiliated I was when I found out how I had been underpaid. The (inequity in) pay affects everything, especially quality of life. I believe America is better than this. At least, I thought so. I never dreamed I would have to sue for equal pay.”

JALC Vice President for Instruction, Dr. Julia Schroeder, said she is excited that the college, in conjunction with the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at SIUC, is co-hosting Ledbetter’s speaking engagements.

“Her visit is timely with the White House’s Workplace Flexibility Initiative released this summer and the current work being done by the Work-Life subcommittee that is chaired by Dr. Valerie Barko here on campus,” Schroeder said. “

Some information from this article was accessed from the New York Times.