In an effort to ensure equal pay for equal work, Assemblymember Harry Bronson (D-Rochester/Chili/Henrietta) announced he helped pass a legislative package that would end wage discrimination in New York State.

“Pay equity is about fairness for all working people,” said Assemblymember Bronson. “No worker should make less simply because of their sex, race or national origin. Simply put, ending wage discrimination is the right thing to do.”

Women in New York make 84 cents for every dollar men earn, creating a substantial yearly pay gap of roughly $8,275 between men and women working full time in New York State.ⁱ Further, minority women fare even worse, with African-American women being paid 64 cents and Latina women being paid just 55 cents for every dollar paid to white, non-Hispanic men nationally.ⁱⁱ

As a group, full-time working women are paid nearly $23 billion less every year because of the wage gap. And since over 1 million households are headed by women, these disparities translate into further inequity, Assemblymember Bronson noted.

Specifically, the Assembly legislation would make it easier to enforce equal pay regulations and create a state policy to determine and define “comparable work.” Additionally, the legislation would:

• enact the New York State Fair Pay Act to address and enforce pay equity, including broadening equal pay protections to include equivalent jobs, making it unlawful for an employer to discriminate between employees on the basis of gender, race or national origin, and ensuring that traditional female and minority jobs are not undervalued (A.5958);
• establish state policy that local political subdivisions ensure equal pay for work of comparable value regardless of sex, race or national origin (A.1729);
• implement a state policy that compensates employees in state service equally for work of comparable value by eliminating wage inequality for workers due to sex, race or national origin (A.753); and
• design and publish a report evaluating wage disparities of public employees related to job titles, segregated by the gender, race and/or national origin of employees (A.881).

“It’s completely unacceptable that women are denied equal pay for equal work,” said Assemblymember Harry Bronson. “The legislative package I helped pass today would raise the standard of living for those who have not been fairly compensated and put an end to work-related discrimination for good.”

i. www.nationalpartnership.org/site/DocServer/Wage_Gap_ny.pdf

ii. Ibid