Equal Pay Bill Blocked in Senate

Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama interrupted their rival campaigns yesterday to vote together on a bill that would make it easier for women to sue employers for pay discrimination. But their moment of unity proved fruitless as Senate Republicans blocked the bill, likely killing it for the rest of the year, reports Reuters.

The impetus for the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act was a 5-4 decision by the US Supreme Court that a lawsuit for pay discrimination must be filed within six months of the first alleged offense—which could be long before an employee discovers she has been a victim of discrimination. The bill would have lifted those restrictions. (More pay discrimination stories.)