Equal pay act s pro#

6, Providence) and Senate Health and Human Services Committee Chairman Joshua Miller (D-Dist. 35, North Kingstown, East Greenwich, Narragansett, South Kingstown), Sen. 32, Barrington, Bristol East Providence), Senate Majority Whip Maryellen Goodwin (D-Dist. 27, Cranston, West Warwick), Senate Judiciary Committee Cynthia A.

Equal pay act s pro#

4, North Providence, Providence), Senate President Pro Tempore Hanna M. The Senate bill is cosponsored by Senate President Dominick J.

69, Bristol, Portsmouth) is sponsoring companion legislation ( 2021-H 5261). The bill will now be sent to the House, where Rep. In 2017, Massachusetts passed a similar Fair Pay Act, joining cities and companies across the country that are enacting these policies. Companies that violate the law but are taking steps such as conducting an equal-pay analysis or making progress toward wage gap elimination would be eligible for reduced penalties. It also requires the employer to disclose the salary range for the position. It bans policies that prevent workers from discussing their pay with each other and removes past salary history as a consideration since discrimination is perpetuated over time by employers relying on past salaries, rather than skills and value, to determine current pay. It clarifies вЂњcomparable work,вЂќ making it clear that workers need to be paid equally for вЂњsubstantially similarвЂќ work even if every detail is not the same. The act would make it illegal to pay workers less than their white, male colleagues without a clearly documented difference in skills. 1, would provide protections and transparency in the workplace to help women and people of color demand equal pay for equal work.

Senator GoldinвЂ™s bill ( 2021-S 0270), which would take effect Jan.

Passage of this bill would go a long way toward establishing financial stability for Rhode Island employees and their families,вЂќ said Senator Goldin. While we have always known wage disparity is a problem, the pandemic has forced a disproportionate number of women out of the workforce completely, compounding the inequity women already faced. вЂњLower wages mean Rhode Island women are more likely to struggle with putting food on their table or paying for rent. The bill passed with broad, bipartisan support, 33-1, ahead of Equal Pay Day on March 24, the day in 2021 to which, on average, a woman must work to catch up to what men made in 2020. For women of color, the lifetime loss exceeds $1 million: $1,026,920 for Black women and $1,219,880 for Latinas. On average, Rhode Island women lose $402,000 over a 40-year career to the wage gap-money desperately needed by working families. Black women in Rhode Island make 59 percent of what their white male counterparts make for Latinas, the number is even lower - 50 percent. Women of color are even more deeply affected. In Rhode Island, a woman working full-time still makes only 82 cents to the dollar that her male counterpart makes. Passing this legislation will address the gaping holes in our existing вЂfair payвЂ™ laws and make real progress toward fixing the problem of pay inequality.вЂќ вЂњThis legislation provides employees a more effective, realistic set of tools for addressing unfair pay practices, and it helps our state identify unequal pay where it occurs. вЂњEveryone deserves to be paid fairly for their work,вЂќ said Senator Goldin (D-Dist. Goldin to help address pay gaps and help women and people of color demand equal pay for equal work. STATE HOUSE вЂ“ The Senate yesterday passed legislation sponsored by Sen.