A BILL BECOMES A LAWIN LILLY
The first major piece of legislation under the Obama presidency was the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, signed on January 29, 2009. Lilly explains who the bill was named after and how her situation—a woman receiving less pay than men for the same work—catapulted into a major amendment to the Equal Pay Act of 1963 and the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title VII.
Directed by Rachel Feldman, the biopic/docudrama begins in Jacksonville, Alabama, where her husband (played by John Benjamin Hickey) works at the nearby army depot. One day Lilly (Patricia Clarkson) announces to her husband that she has been hired to work at the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company assembly line. Although he is initially angry that she did so “behind her back,” she persuades him that more income will enable him to receive additional education that will advance his career, whence they will both enjoy the upward mobility of the American Dream.
Although Lilly is initially abused at work by male employees, she persists in her job and is promoted to managerial-level positions. Then, handling complaints on behalf of assembly-line workers, she is suddenly demoted to work again on the assembly line. After almost 20 years, she elects to retire but an anonymous note informs her that men have been paid more for the same work all throughout her career. Had she been male, she would have accumulated $200,000 more income. She then decides to go to court to reclaim the amount for which she was discriminated plus an additional amount for damages. After a well- argued rejoinder to the defense attorney, a jury in a trial court awards her $3,000,000, which is reduced to $360,000, the cap for damages under the law. Nevertheless, Goodyear appeals and wins, reversing the verdict of the trial court. A pro bono lawyer on her behalf then files an appeal with the Supreme Court.
Although most such cases are rejected by the high court, her case is argued before the justices, resulting in a 5–4 ruling in 2007 that she failed to file her original case 180 days after the first act of discrimination, a statute of limitations that re-sets with each additional paycheck. In a vigorous dissent, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg urges Congress to change the law to abolish the 180-day ruling. After all, Goodyear kept the pay discrepancy a secret during most of her career.
Accordingly, Lilly Ledbetter becomes a star witness in Congressional testimony and speaks on behalf of her cause around Washington. A bill passes the House of Representatives but dies in the Senate due a filibuster. During the 2008 Democratic presidential primary, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama endorse legislation on her behalf, and Lilly addresses the 2008 Democratic National Convention. After his inauguration, President Obama asks Congress to adopt the law, which he is pleased to sign.
Throughout the film, Lilly is demonstrated to be a vigorous, eloquent, yet humble Alabaman. On her first day of work, she suffers marks on her body from a tire thrown at her, and she even collapses on the floor during what appears to be her final day of employment. One evening she returns to find her Washington hotel room ransacked. Her husband, who has been supporting her faithfully, suffers from skin cancer that ultimately becomes malignant. One day she returns home from a trip to Washington only to find her husband dead on the floor of their house. In a memorial service, her son Philip (Will Pullen), who left home rebelliously as a teenager, presents Lilly with her baby granddaughter.
Titles at the end present more facts about the main issue in the film—that men continue to earn more for the same employment as women. Lilly died in 2024 at the age of 86 while the film was being produced.
Film segments throughout present previously recorded film footage of Clinton, Ginsburg, and Obama.
The Political Film Society has awarded Lilly as best film exposé, best film on democracy, and best film on human rights of 2005. MH