Lilly Ledbetter, an advocate for women being paid the same as men for the same work, died Saturday evening, her family said in a statement. She was 86.
AL.com was the first to report that she had died.
According to that outlet, the statement said she died “peacefully” and “surrounded by her family and loved ones.” Our mother lived an extraordinary life. We greatly appreciate your respect for our privacy during this time of sorrow.”
Ledbetter’s activism led to the first bill that Barack Obama signed into law after taking office in 2009.
Mark Wilson/Getty Images
The law, called the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act, made it easier for employees to file a lawsuit after discovering what they claimed was pay discrimination.
In signing the measure, Obama said it sent the message “that there are no second-class citizens in our workplaces, and that paying someone less because of their gender or age or their race or their ethnicity, religion or disability.”
Ledbetter worked at Goodyear Tire & Rubber in Gadsden, Alabama, for nearly two decades before discovering she was paid less than men doing the same work.
The legislation effectively overturned a two-year-old Supreme Court ruling that found Ledbetter had no grounds to sue because she failed to discover the alleged wage discrimination within six months after it first occurred.
The bill signed by Obama changed the rules so Ledbetter and workers like her could file suit within six months of discovering the alleged pay discrimination, regardless of when it started.
The former president paid tribute to Ledbetter in a post on he signed the bill with her name.
“Lilly did what so many Americans before her have done: set the bar high for herself and even higher for her children and grandchildren,” Obama said.
Ledbetter continued her advocacy long after the law was signed.
She received Advertising Week’s Future Is Female Lifetime Achievement Award last week, AL.com noted.
And a film about her life, “Lilly,” starring Patricia Clarkson, just premiered at the Hamptons International Film Festival.
