President Obama signed equal-pay legislation yesterday. The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act (named after a woman who lost a Supreme Court case in which she claimed she had been paid less than men because the case wasn't brought soon enough), resets the statute of limitations after each paycheck is received. The act broadens workers' rights and was the first bill signed into law by the new President. Opponents to the legislation claimed it will encourage lawsuits ? which prevented the bill from passing previously ? but the new Congress successfully passed the act, vindicating Ms. Ledbetter once and for all despite the outcome of her case.
See "Obama Signs Equal-Pay Legislation", Sheryl Gay Stolberg, The New York Times, January 29, 2009