Employment Litigation · Primary-source case analysis

Ledbetter: The Charge Period Ran From the Discrete Pay Decision Under Then-Existing Law

By Aneeta Mishra and Timothy Chan

Published September 13, 2026

Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. is important both for its original accrual rule and for Congress’s later statutory response.

Past evaluations affected current pay

Lilly Ledbetter alleged that sex discrimination in performance evaluations and raises left her earning less than male colleagues. She filed an EEOC charge near the end of her career, although the pay-setting decisions she challenged largely occurred outside the statutory charge period.

The Court treated pay-setting as a discrete act

The majority held that a new charging period began when a discriminatory compensation decision was made and communicated. Later checks reflecting the continuing consequences of an earlier decision did not, by themselves, revive that untimely act under the rule the Court applied.

The verdict was reversed

Because Ledbetter had not proved that a discriminatory pay decision occurred within the charge period, the Court reversed the Title VII judgment. The opinion distinguished a present violation from the later effects of an earlier act.

Congress changed the governing rule

The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 amended federal discrimination statutes so an unlawful compensation practice occurs when a discriminatory compensation decision is adopted, when a person becomes subject to it, or when compensation is paid under it. Current claims must apply the amended text rather than treating the 2007 accrual holding as controlling law.

Key takeaways

• Calendar the administrative charge period immediately.
• Identify each compensation decision and paycheck.
• Apply the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act to current accrual questions.
• Preserve evaluation, raise, comparator, and payroll records.