During his time in the Illinois State Senate, he cosponsored and voted for the Illinois Equal Pay Act, which provided 330,000 more women protection from pay discrimination.
In the U.S. Senate, Obama was part of a bipartisan group that introduced the Fair Pay Restoration Act. This bill sought to overturn the Supreme Court's 5-4 decision in Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, a case in which Lilly Ledbetter claimed she was being paid less for her work because she was a woman (almost $225,000 less over her 19-year career.) The Fair Pay Restoration Act would "restore the clear intent of Congress that workers must have a reasonable time to file a pay discrimination claim after they become victims of discriminatory compensation."
Obama is also a cosponsor of Senator Tom Harkin's (D-IA) Fair Pay Act.
