Lawmakers Introduce Bill To Modernize Pennsylvania’s Equal Pay Law

HARRISBURG, PA — To mark Equal Pay Day on March 14, State Senators Steve Santarsiero (D-10) and Maria Collett (D-12) are searching for to shut the gender wage hole by re-introducing laws to modernize Pennsylvania’s Equal Pay Legal guidelines.

Ladies in Pennsylvania at present earn 79 cents for each greenback paid to males, based on the lawmakers. This quantities to a spot of greater than $10,000 yearly, they stated. The gender wage hole might be traced to a number of elements, together with occupational segregation, bias towards working moms, and direct pay discrimination, the lawmakers stated.

Senate Invoice 421 updates the Equal Pay Legal guidelines to do the next:

• Broaden the scope of present regulation to incorporate extra staff and fringe advantages;
• Defend staff from retaliation when inquiring about wage info, making certain wages are based mostly on bona fide elements; and
• Present employees the flexibility to gather unpaid wages when an employer is discovered to violate the regulation.

“It’s inconceivable that in 2023, girls in Pennsylvania nonetheless earn lower than their male colleagues for a similar work,” stated Senator Santarsiero. “This isn’t solely about equity. It is a vital financial difficulty. Guaranteeing girls obtain honest and equal pay will reinvigorate Pennsylvania’s economic system and elevate girls and kids out of poverty.”

“Within the 5 years since Senator Santarsiero and I first launched this invoice, neither it nor girls’s wages have moved,” stated Senator Collett. “Pennsylvania girls nonetheless earn even much less on the greenback than girls in different states. The disparity is much more pronounced for ladies of coloration. Closing the pay hole is nice for our employees, good for our economic system, and good for our households.”

Senators Santarsiero and Collett have launched comparable payments every legislative session since taking workplace in 2018.

SB 421’s co-sponsorship memorandum might be discovered right here.