The Supreme Court overturned an Alabama Federal Court decision awarding a woman $360,000 in damages for her discrimination suit because she didn't issue the complaint within 180 of the "intentional discrimination" beginning. Although Lilly Ledbetter's salary initially matched that of her male colleagues, over time she received smaller raises. And at the time of the suit, Ledbetter was making 40 percent less than the lowest-paid man, even after 20 years of employment with Goodyear Tires. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission supported Ledbetter, arguing that each paycheck since the initial discrimination constituted an act of discrimination that "reset" the 180-day period, but Justice Samuel Alito dismissed these views as a "policy argument." According to Alito, "Current effects alone cannot breathe life into prior, unchanged discrimination."

The 5-4 decision split the court, as dissenting justices argued that workplace realities were ignored by the majority interpretation on the 180-day policy. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, voicing strong discontent with the majority decision to award zero damages, maintained that many employees would not know within three months whether or not they had experienced pay discrimination because co-workers don't usually share information about their salaries. Supported by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and the Bush Administration, the decision interprets discrimination as a one-time act within Ledbetter's 20-year career. Many pay discrimination cases continue to be barred based on the 180-day requirement cited in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.--Joanne Yao

Though millions of consumers are switching over to online banking, many of our nation's 78 million Boomers refuse to make the transition, preferring instead to use checks. But according to Consumer Action, that same group of Boomers (about 15 percent of the U.S. population) also makes up about 30 percent of fraud victims. The American Bankers Association says check fraud is growing at a rate of 25 percent per year. So what can you do, aside from using online banking, to protect yourself from becoming the next victim? According to identity theft expert and author Frank W. Abagnale, three simple moves can make a difference:

• Don't leave mail in your mailbox overnight or over the weekend. Thieves can easily grab your outgoing bills and other personal tidbits.
• Use a gel pen when writing checks. This way, thieves can't remove the ink from your check to change your information.
• Shred or tear up any unwanted documents including personal information.

If you hired new employees last month, you're not alone. And if you had to pay those new employees a little more than you expected, you're also in good company. The May 2007 SurePayroll Small Business Scorecard, an economic indicator that tracks the health of U.S. small businesses, indicates that small biz hiring increased and salaries rose last month.

Year to date, small-business hiring has increased 1.8 percent and salaries have improved by 2.7 percent. The current average small-business salary in the U.S. now stands at $32,142. SurePayroll's analysis is based on payroll records of more than 18,000 companies that use SurePayroll's payroll service. For more details on the SurePayroll Small Business Scorecard, visit SurePayroll's website.