The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has codified the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act into its Compliance Manual, incorporating the law’s standard that the statute of limitation on discriminatory pay practices resets each time a paycheck is issued, regardless of when the initial discriminatory pay decision was made.

The 2009 Fair Pay Act, to recount, overturned the 2007 Supreme Court decision in Ledbetter v. Goodyear that dated the statute of limitation as beginning the day the decision was made to pay someone in a discriminatory fashion.

The statute of limitation runs 180 days in states that lack state fair employment practice agencies and 300 days in states that do have such agencies.

The Compliance Manual makes it clear, however, that, unlike salaries, pensions are considered to be paid in full upon retirement, so the statute of limitation would commence from the date of retirement and would not be renewed upon issuance of new retirement checks.

"Therefore," according to the manual, "to avoid potential timeliness issues, an individual who is considering challenging his or her pension benefits is strongly encouraged to file a charge within 180/300 days after retirement."

To help employers and human resources professionals stay in compliance with the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and other similar pieces of legislation, Personnel Concepts has prepared a Fair Pay Discrimination Compliance Kit. Get your copy today–it’s comprehensive and easy to read and follow.