BILL ANALYSIS Ó
HR 58
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Date of Hearing: August 22, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT
Tony Thurmond, Chair
HR 58
(Chang) - As Introduced June 30, 2016
SUBJECT: The United States Women's National Soccer Team
SUMMARY: Declares the support of the Assembly for the members
of the United States Women's National Soccer Team in their
efforts to be fairly compensated. Specifically, this resolution
makes the following legislative findings and declarations:
1)The United States Women's National Soccer Team has won three
World Cup titles since the Women's World Cup was founded in
1991, as well as four Olympic gold medals.
2)The Women's World Cup final victory in 2015 against Japan was
the most watched soccer match in United States television
history for women or men.
3)In 2015, the United States Women's National Soccer Team earned
the United States Soccer Federation a profit more than three
times the amount produced by the United States Men's National
Soccer Team. In 2016 the women's team is expected to earn
similar profits while the men's team is projected to lose
earnings.
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4)Despite their success, compensation for the members of the
United States Women's National Soccer Team is clearly
disparate when compared with the United States Men's National
Soccer Team. Women on the national team earn $30,000 if they
make the World Cup roster; men on the national team, on the
other hand, earn $68,750 for making the World Cup roster,
which is more than twice as much as the pay earned by members
of the women's national team.
5)If the United States Women's National Soccer Team were to win
all 20 regular season games, they would earn only about 40
percent of the compensation for the same results by the United
States Men's National Soccer Team.
6)The United States Women's National Soccer Team is given a
bonus of $1,350 for every friendly game they win; no bonus is
rewarded for a loss or tie. Comparatively, the United States
Men's National Soccer Team receives a bonus of $5,000 for
every friendly game they play, regardless of the outcome.
7)Female soccer players all over the country aspire to join the
United States Women's National Soccer Team and unfair
compensation sends the wrong message that even the best
players will not be properly and fairly recognized for their
success.
In addition, this resolution makes the following resolutions:
1)That the Assembly hereby declares its support for the members
of the United States Women's National Soccer Team in their
efforts to be fairly compensated.
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2)That the Assembly urges the United States Soccer Federation to
immediately end gender pay disparities under the federation.
3)That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this
resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.
FISCAL EFFECT: None. This bill is keyed non-fiscal by the
Legislative Counsel.
COMMENTS: According to the author, despite the unrivaled
success of the US Women's National Team (USWNT), its players
face a significant pay disparity relative to their counterparts
on the men's national team. Earlier this year, players from the
women's team filed a lawsuit with the Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission charging the U.S. Soccer Federation with
wage discrimination. The inequality between the women and men's
team players represents an egregious example of gender wage
disparity that has impacts beyond the players of the national
team. Young female athletes all over the country aspire to join
the USWNT and unfair compensation sends a discouraging message
that even the best players will not be properly and fairly
recognized for their success.
In a recent letter to the United States Soccer Federation,
United States Senator Diane Feinstein and other Senators stated:
"We recently recognized Equal Pay Day on April 12, 2016, which
represents how far into the year women must work to make up
for the gender pay gap from the previous year. The average
national pay gap is 21 percent meaning women earn 79 cents for
every dollar a man earns. The complaint filed by the U.S.
Women's National Team is appalling but unfortunately similar
to the pay disparity women experience across the country.
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The Equal Pay Act requires that employers pay men and women
equally for doing the same work. Given that members of the
men and women's teams perform the same job duties, have jobs
that require equal skill, effort, and responsibilities, and
perform their jobs under similar working conditions, we are
deeply concerned about the reported discrepancies in pay.
We urge you to resolve this dispute quickly and ensure that
the U.S. Women's National Team is fairly compensated. You
have an opportunity to be a leader on this issue and help pave
the way towards equal pay for all women."
The author states that this resolution seeks to raise awareness
of gender pay disparities by pledging support for the women's
national team players and their effort to achieve fair
compensation. The resolution further calls on the United States
Soccer Federation to end any gender wage disparities under its
control.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
None on file.
Opposition
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None on file.
Analysis Prepared by:Ben Ebbink / L. & E. / (916) 319-2091