One failure of news coverage of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act—which would open the courts to claims of pay discrimination dating back years or decades—is that it has completely ignored a thoughtful alternative proposed by Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX). Hutchison’s Title VII Fairness Act (just reintroduced as S. 166), rather than allowing any claim—no matter how old, no matter if the plaintiff delayed filing just to gain an upper hand—would start the limitations period running only when an employee reasonably suspects, or should reasonably suspect, that he or …
