Two bills in Congress are aimed at correcting injustices that arise from recent anti-worker decisions by the Supreme Court and the National Labor Relations Board. In January, the United States Senate began considering the Fair Pay Restoration Act, which addresses the 180-day statute of limitations for employees to bring pay discrimination claims against their employers. The bill passed the House of Representatives last year.

    If and when it becomes law, the bill would repair the damage caused when the Supreme Court ruled against Lilly Ledbetter, an employee of Goodyear Tire Co., in 2007. Ledbetter’s attorneys noted it took her years to learn she was earning less than her male counterparts at the company. Yet, because the statute of limitations states that an employee only has 180 days to file a wage discrimination complaint, she had no legal options to protect her rights.

    Supporters of the bill say that it gives workers a realistic opportunity to stop ongoing discrimination and holds firms accountable for violating the law. As Ledbetter herself put it when she testified before a Senate committee, the Senate should follow the lead of the House in passing the bill “so that our civil rights laws can once again offer effective protection against discrimination.”

    Another bill being considered by Congress is the Re-Empowerment of Skilled and Professional Employees and Construction Tradeworkers Act, popularly called the RESPECT Act. This bill would reverse the “Kentucky River Decisions” made by the National Labor Relations Board in 2006. These rulings classified millions of Americans as “supervisors” who do not have labor rights under the National Labor Relations Act of 1935.

    As a result, hundreds of thousands of nurses and others have been effectively stripped of their right to organize and bargain collectively.