BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AJR 47
Author: Block (D)
Amended: As introduced
Vote: 21
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 52-21, 8/29/12 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Compensation: gender pay equity
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This resolution urges Congress to reintroduce
and adopt the Paycheck Fairness Act to help close the
gender wage gap.
ANALYSIS : This resolution makes the following
legislative findings:
1.Forty-nine years after the passage of the federal Equal
Pay Act of 1963 and forty-eight years after the passage
of Title VII of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964,
American women continue to suffer disparities in wages
that cannot be accounted for by age, education, or work
experience.
2.According to the U.S. Census Bureau, year-round,
full-time working women earned only 77 cents for every
dollar paid to their male counterparts, indicating little
change or progress in pay equity.
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3.In 2010, women in California with a high school diploma
were paid only 73 cents for every dollar paid to men with
a high school diploma, and women in California with a
bachelor's degree were paid only 74 cents for every
dollar paid to men with a bachelor's degree, which
indicates that the wage gap persists at all levels of
education.
4.Women have struggled to regain jobs in the economic
recovery and continue to face high levels of long-term
unemployment, even as their families rely on them more
heavily for financial support.
5.The unemployment rate for women in California in 2011 was
11.4%, a 6.2 percentage-point increase since the
recession began in December of 2007, and 45.1% of jobless
women workers in California had been looking for work for
27 weeks or more.
6.Wages overall are stagnating and the wage gap has barely
budged over the last ten years and while Congress and the
President have taken initial steps to improve the laws
that govern pay discrimination by passing the federal
Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, there is more that
must be done to realize the decades-old promise of fair
pay for equal work.
7.The Paycheck Fairness Act, a bill that would give women
more protections against wage discrimination, failed to
clear a procedural hurdle in the U.S. Senate in June 2012
for the second time in two years.
8.The Paycheck Fairness Act would have built upon the
federal Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 by
protecting workers who inquire about pay disparities from
retaliation and punish employers who engage in paycheck
discrimination.
9.The California State Legislature fully supports the
efforts to ensure pay equity and to protect employees,
who seek information about pay without fear of
retribution, urges Congress to reintroduce and adopt the
Paycheck Fairness Act to help close the gender wage gap.
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Comments
The author states that it has been nearly 50 years since
the Equal Pay Act of 1963 and American women continue to
suffer disparities in wages that cannot be accounted for by
age, education, or work experience.
The average woman earns 77% of a man's salary regardless of
age, education, or work experience. S. 3220, the Paycheck
Fairness Act authored by Senator Barbara Mikulski prevents
companies from retaliating against employees who inquire
about pay disparities and would permit workers to sue for
punitive damages. S. 3220 would protect workers and provide
a legal path for women to finally diminish the wage gap.
The bill is provisionally dead due to a failed vote for
cloture in June 2012.
According to the April 2012 National Women's Law Center
Report, women have struggled to regain jobs in the recovery
and continue to face high levels of long-term unemployment,
even as their families rely on them more heavily for
financial support. Wages over all are stagnating and the
wage gap has barely budged over the last ten years. The gap
particularly harms women in these economically difficult
times, when women the most financially vulnerable, are more
likely to turn to public assistance to make ends meet for
their families.
The Report also states that the wage gap for women persists
at all levels of education and exists across numerous
occupations. Fair pay would help close the wage gap and
increase women's economic security.
Finally, the Report says that although Congress has taken
initial steps to improve the laws that govern pay
discrimination there is more that must be done to realize
the decades-old promise of fair pay for equal work.
FISCAL EFFECT : Fiscal Com.: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/30/12)
American Association of University Women
Business and Professional Women of Nevada County
California National Organization for Women
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National Council of Jewish Women
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The California National
Organization for Women states, "An update to the Equal Pay
Act would create stronger incentives for employers to
follow the law, empower women to negotiate for equal pay,
and strengthen federal outreach, education and enforcement
efforts. The bill would deter wage discrimination by
strengthening penalties for equal pay violations and by
prohibiting retaliation against workers who ask about
employers' wage practices or disclose their own wages.
Together with the Ledbetter bill, this critical piece of
legislation can help create a climate where pay
discrimination is not tolerated, and give the
Administration the enforcement tools it needs to make real
progress on pay equity."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 52-21, 8/29/12
AYES: Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall, Block,
Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan,
Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos, Carter, Cedillo,
Chesbro, Davis, Dickinson, Eng, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong,
Furutani, Galgiani, Gatto, Gordon, Hall, Hayashi, Roger
Hernández, Hill, Huber, Hueso, Huffman, Lara, Bonnie
Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Mitchell, Monning, Pan, Perea, V.
Manuel Pérez, Portantino, Skinner, Solorio, Swanson,
Torres, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez
NOES: Bill Berryhill, Conway, Donnelly, Beth Gaines,
Garrick, Grove, Halderman, Harkey, Jeffries, Jones,
Logue, Mansoor, Miller, Morrell, Nestande, Nielsen,
Olsen, Silva, Smyth, Valadao, Wagner
NO VOTE RECORDED: Achadjian, Cook, Fuentes, Gorell,
Hagman, Knight, Norby
PQ:n 8/30/12 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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