We've decided to delete a duplicate promise on the Fair Pay Act

Posted by Angie Drobnic Holan :: Published on Monday, June 22nd, 2009 at 06:49 p.m.

A sharp-eyed reader alerted us that Promise No. 413 is essentially the same promise as No. 411. Both have to do with helping women and minorities sue their employers for pay discrimination.

Promise No. 413 states: "Pass the Fair Pay Act: Obama will also pass the Fair Pay Act to ensure that women receive equal pay for equal work."

In substance, it's similar to No. 411, "Work to overturn Ledbetter vs. Goodyear: Obama will work to overturn the Supreme Court's recent ruling that curtails racial minorities' and women's ability to challenge pay discrimination."

We rated No. 411 as Promise Kept when Obama signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009. No. 413, like most of Obama's promises, had been rated No Action.

Ledbetter, a former supervisor at a Goodyear tire plant in Alabama, sued the company after discovering several months before her 1998 retirement that, for years, she was paid less than her male counterparts. A jury awarded Ledbetter more than $3 million. But the Supreme Court overturned that judgment, ruling that a 180-day statute of limitation for her to file a lawsuit had started from the first instance of discrimination, meaning that her suit about more than a decade of discrimination was untimely.

The Democratic Congress took up Ledbetter's cause, drafting legislation that would set the clock running when the discriminatory action was discovered. Ledbetter herself was unable to benefit from the law, but it does change the rules so that others who want to file similar suits won't face the same time limitations.

We don't see much difference in the two promises and want to avoid duplications, so we're deleting promise No. 413 from the database.