The Agenda - House Version

The word is that one of the first items on the new House of Representatives' agenda will be reversing the egregious Supreme Court decision in the Ledbetter case, which held that if a employer can hide its wage-discrimination from an employee for at least 180 days, the employee can never sue to enforce their rights under The Civil Rights Act of 1964.

While Ledbetter itself involved wage discrimination on the basis of gender, it has been used to deny justice to plaintiffs alleging discrimination on the basis of age as well as race. And in addition to wage-discrimination claims, the precedent has been used to bar claims for housing discrimination.

The House passed a Bill reversing the Ledbetter decision last term, but it died in the Senate when the Republicans filibustered.

The Catholic Church's support for equal pay is well-established. Once again, how each Party and each politician act on this issue will say much about their commitment to The Common Good.