Rob Andrews: “Lilly Ledbetter won an award for being the best at her job in her company. She was woefully underpaid compared to the…”

“Lilly Ledbetter won an award for being the best at her job in her company. She was woefully underpaid compared to the men along whom's side she worked doing the same job. She said that she was underpaid because she was a woman, the employer said she was underpaid because she wasn't as good at her job. So they both went before a jury of their peers in Alabama, and the jury unanimously decided that Ms. Ledbetter was right and the employer was wrong, and they decided that she should be financially compensated for that wrong. But then she got an unwelcome surprise, that because she hadn't acted at precisely the right moment, because she hadn't acted against a wrong she did not know existed yet, because she did not have the power of a stance, she could not file her claim. The Supreme Court, with all due respect, turned this law into a trap and a game. Today, we are recorrecting that law, restoring the notion that when a woman goes to work in this country, she should be compensated on how good she is at her job, not her gender. Vote ``yes'' on this bill.”