Obama to sign his first law

President Obama will sign his first law in the coming days. The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act passed today. Lilly worked at a job for 19 years before she found that she was the victim of wage discrimination. Her case made it to the Supreme Court, which ruled that the 180 day statute of limitations had run out. This bill extends the amount of time workers have to file a claim. Every time the employer issues another discriminatory paycheck, the 180 day clock is reset.

So that I don't have to re-type the whole thing, here's a Rec Listed diary that I wrote over at DKos this afternoon. This has been my best received diary by far.

On a technical note, the bill passed the Senate on Jan. 22. The House Rules Committee issued a closed rule prohibiting Floor amendments. That means the House passed the Senate version and there will be no conference committee.

One commenter noted that Obama will sign the bill on Thursday with Ms. Ledbetter in attendance.

It's refreshing that the 111th Congress, with a Democratic majority, is actually doing something, well, progressive.

Chris