Senators Santarsiero and Collett Introduce Bill to Modernize Pennsylvania’s Equal Pay Law in Honor of Equal Pay Day

Harrisburg, PA- March 13, 2023- Coinciding with Equal Pay Day on March 14th, Senators Steve Santarsiero (D-10) and Maria Collett (D-12) are seeking to close the gender wage gap by re-introducing legislation to modernize Pennsylvania’s Equal Pay Laws.

Women in Pennsylvania currently earn 79 cents for every dollar paid to men. This amounts to a gap of more than $10,000 every year. The gender wage gap can be traced to multiple factors, including occupational segregation, bias against working mothers, and direct pay discrimination.

To remedy this inequity, SB 421 updates the antiquated Equal Pay Laws to do the following:

  1. Broaden the scope of current law to include more employees and fringe benefits;
  2. Protect employees from retaliation when inquiring about wage information, ensuring wages are based on bona fide factors; and
  3. Provide workers the ability to collect unpaid wages when an employer is found to violate the law.

“It is inconceivable that in 2023, women in Pennsylvania still earn less than their male colleagues for the same work,” said Senator Santarsiero. “This is not only about fairness. It is an important economic issue. Ensuring women receive fair and equal pay will reinvigorate Pennsylvania’s economy and lift women and children out of poverty.”

“In the five years since Senator Santarsiero and I first introduced this bill, neither it nor women’s wages have moved,” said Senator Collett. “Pennsylvania women still earn even less on the dollar than women in other states. The disparity is even more pronounced for women of color. Closing the pay gap is good for our workers, good for our economy, and good for our families.”

Senators Santarsiero and Collett have introduced similar bills each legislative session since taking office in 2018.

SB 421’s co-sponsorship memorandum can be found here.

Senators Santarsiero and Collett Introduce Bill to Modernize Pennsylvania’s Equal Pay Law

HARRISBURG – April 1, 2019 – On the eve of Equal Pay Day, Senators Steve Santarsiero (D-10) and Maria Collett (D-12) issued a joint memorandum inviting fellow senators to join them in support of legislation that will ensure workers are compensated fairly for their work.

Currently, women in Pennsylvania earn 79 cents for every dollar paid to men, amounting to a gap of over $10,000 a year. The gender wage gap is the result of multiple factors, including occupational segregation, bias against working mothers, and direct pay discrimination.

To combat unequal pay in the workplace, the senators will be introducing legislation to update Pennsylvania’s antiquated Equal Pay Law as follows:

  1. Broaden the scope of current law to include more employees and fringe benefits;
  2. Protect employees from retaliation when inquiring about wage information, ensuring wages are based on bona fide factors; and
  3. Provide workers the ability to collect unpaid wages when an employer is found to violate the law.

“Women contribute essential and valued work in every sector of our economy,” Sen. Santarsiero said. “It’s past time for us to guarantee women are paid fairly and fully for their work.”

Sen. Collett added, “Pennsylvania continues to lag behind other states when it comes to closing the wage gap, making Pennsylvania’s women – especially women of color – even worse off than the national average. The time for change is overdue. Closing the gender pay gap is good for our families, good for our economy, and good for Pennsylvania.”

Barbara Price, of the Bucks County Women’s Advocacy Coalition and the American Association of University Women, said on the issue of wage discrepancy, “Solving the gender pay gap is a matter of economics for women and families. With a record number of women in the workforce and nearly half of women functioning as primary or co-breadwinners, equal pay for women is critical to families’ economic security. Updating Pennsylvania’s Pay Equity Law to cover all employees will lift families and the Pennsylvania economy.”

“Pennsylvania’s Equal Pay Act needs to be updated to lift the economic barriers to women in the work place so they are paid family sustaining wages,” said Tam St. Claire, also of the Bucks County Women’s Advocacy Coalition. “If employed women in Pennsylvania were paid the same as comparable men, their poverty rate would be reduced by more than half, moving us toward equity and economic security for all.  Lifting the barriers to equal pay will also lift the economy.”

This legislation mirrors a proposal in the House of Representatives co-sponsored by Representatives Brian Sims (D-182) and Tina Davis (D-141), introduced as HB 850.

A link to the memorandum can be found here.                                         

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