The Equal Pay for Equal Work Act of 2016 by Assemblyman Bill Dodd (D-Napa) passed the state Legislature at the end of August with bipartisan support.
The act, also known as Assembly Bill 1890, would ensure companies that do business with the state of California have fair compensation policies and practices that do not unlawfully discriminate based on gender or race.
The announcement of the bill's passages came on Aug. 26, Women’s Equality Day, which commemorates the certification of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, guaranteeing women the right to vote.
“We continue the fight against wage inequities that still exist for women across California,” said Sue Miller, chair of the American Association of University Women of California Public Policy Committee. “The wage gap remains constant and women are still paid less in nearly every occupation. Women and their families suffer the consequences of a pay gap from their first paycheck to their last Social Security check. It is imperative that our legislature and our governor continue to support progressive reforms that move toward a more equitable future for all Californians. AAUW California asks the governor to sign AB 1890 as one more tool to help us in our fight.”
The gender pay gap has remained relatively unchanged in recent years, with full-time working women in the U.S. averaging just 77 cents for every dollar earned by their male counterparts over the last decade.
The disparity is even greater for women of color, and numerous studies have found a gap persists even when controlling for factors like education and career field.
In 2014, the pay gap between men and women averaged nearly $11,000 annually in lost income.
“The state of California spends billions of dollars annually on state contracts, and we need to ensure taxpayer money is going to companies that follow our existing gender pay equity laws,” said Dodd. “I’m hopeful Gov. Brown will seize this opportunity to have California once again set the example for the nation. We can’t idly sit by and leave a state where my granddaughters are valued less than my grandsons. We owe it to hard working women and future generations to close the pay gap.”
The act, will require companies that contract with the state to have policies in place to help ensure compliance with the equal pay laws.
Additionally, the bill would require contractors to provide the state with data on employee pay by gender and race.
Collecting this data will help the state in appropriately targeting its efforts to reduce and eliminate the wage gap in California. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is currently considering similar reporting requirements at the federal level.
“As a society we need to ensure people aren’t paid less for doing the same job simply because of their gender or the color of their skin. The advancement of gender pay equity has been overlooked for too long,” said gender pay equity advocate, K. Patrice Williams, of Vallejo. “This legislation marks another step towards closing the gender pay gap in California. I’d like to thank Assemblymember Dodd for his effort in promoting this positive change.”
Last year, Dodd co-authored the California Fair Pay Act of 2015, which was signed by Gov. Brown to create the strongest equal pay laws in the nation.
Hoping to build of last year’s success, Dodd’s legislation would advance gender pay equity by ensuring those standards are actually followed by state contractors.
The bill now heads to the governor’s desk where it awaits his signature to become law.
Dodd represents the Fourth Assembly District, which includes all or portions of Napa, Sonoma, Solano, Yolo, Lake and Colusa counties. Visit his Web site at www.asm.ca.gov/dodd .
Dodd’s gender pay equity bill passes Legislature, waits for governor's signature
- Lake County News reports
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