Albany, NY – Assemblywoman Nily Rozic (D,WF-Fresh Meadows) announced legislation she passed to help ensure women earn equal pay for equal work as part of her fight for full women’s equality. The package includes a resolution sponsored by Rozic recognizing April 10th as Equal Pay Day, which represents how far into the year women must work to earn the same amount their male counterparts made the previous year.

“The reality is that in 2018 we should be able to tell women and girls that their hard work and determination will be valued equally and fairly,” said Rozic. “But that’s unfortunately not the truth. The gender pay gap forces women to play catch-up their whole lives, making economic security harder to reach for them and their families.”

Women across the country only earn 80 cents for every dollar a man earns. This number is even less for African-American, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Hispanic women, who earn 63 cents, 57 cents, and 55 cents, respectively. Though, overall, Asian-American and Pacific Islander women earn more than the average woman as they are paid 87 cents on the dollar, this figure changes within different sub-groups and across various occupations.

Although New York is the closest to closing the pay gap, women here still only make 89 cents for every dollar a man makes. The pay gap costs women hundreds of thousands of dollars over the course of their lifetimes, and as women are increasingly becoming the breadwinners, this stark inequality negatively affects their families, communities and local economies.

To ensure women have greater protections under the law, the Assembly’s legislation includes the New York State Fair Pay Act to address and enforce pay equity, including broadening equal pay protections to include equivalent jobs, and ensuring that traditional female and minority jobs are not undervalued. To further combat wage inequality, the Assembly passed a bill prohibiting employers from requesting, requiring or seeking a current or prospective employee’s salary or wage history as a condition of employment or promotion. There are currently four states, as well as Puerto Rico, that have laws forbidding wage history questions, and earlier this month, a federal appeals court ruled that employers cannot justify paying women less based on their previous salaries.

Additionally, the Assembly passed legislation that would implement a state policy to ensure wage equality for state and municipal employees, as well as legislation directing the Civil Service Commission to study and publish a report evaluating wage disparities among public employees in order to establish where and how inequities exist. This would help ensure that, moving forward, employees with equal jobs receive the same compensation regardless of gender, race and national origin.

The legislative package also includes a measure to ensure that the state complies with the federal Equal Pay Act of 1963 and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and gives public employees a private right of action to sue for compensation and enforce equal pay disparities.

Rozic added, “Gender should never be a deciding factor in a person’s chance at economic security and opportunity. Equal pay for equal work is not a novel idea – it levels the playing field and is the right thing to do.”