Employee loses pay bias case.

Byline: John Reid Blackwell

May 30--Workers will have a tougher time winning pay discrimination lawsuits after a U.S. Supreme Court decision yesterday, Richmond-area labor law experts said.

The Supreme Court ruled against a Goodyear employee who earned thousands of dollars less than her male counterparts but waited too long to complain. The 5-4 decision underscored a provision in a federal civil-rights law that sets a 180-day deadline for employees to claim they are being paid less because of their race, sex, religion or national origin.

"It will make it more difficult for plaintiffs who have suffered discrimination

on the job to sue and recover," said Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond. …