Legislators are taking aim at loopholes in existing equality laws with the recent passage of the Fair Pay Act.
It pays to be a working woman in California.
At least it’s likely to pay just a bit more than in many other states across the country, courtesy of new legislation that seeks to further narrow the state’s gender wage gap. While California already boasted the seventh smallest gap in the country in 2014 at 84.1 cents for every dollar earned by a man, legislators are taking aim at loopholes in existing laws with the recent passage of the Fair Pay Act.
Signed into law on Oct. 6, 2015, the Fair Pay Act was introduced by Sen. Hanna-Beth Jackson, D-Santa Barbara, to give employees the ability to file complaints if they earn less than others doing substantially similar work in their own workplace. The law applies even if the employees work at different worksites. It also prohibits employers from taking retribution against staff who ask coworkers about their wages.
The new law takes effect on Jan. 1, 2016, essentially opening the door for litigation from employees who feel they are earning less than others who do the same job. The burden of proof to justify a wage difference falls upon the employer. While factors such as seniority, education and training, merit and productivity are legal differentiators in wages under the law, gender is not.
California has prohibited gender-based wage discrimination since 1949, but it was difficult to leverage those laws to make a successful claim. The Fair Pay Act plainly spells out when a pay differential is legal and when it is not.
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A Look at the Gender Pay Gap Across America
At 84.1 cents, California’s 2014 gender wage gap was the seventh lowest in the country, according to the National Women’s Law Center in Washington, D.C. The nation’s capital earns the honor of having the lowest gap at 89.5 cents for every dollar earned by a man. Louisiana has the largest gap with women earning 65.3 cents on the dollar compared to their male counterparts.
Here are a few of the other states with lower gender wage gaps:
- New York – 87 cents
- Florida – 85 cents
- Nevada – 85 cents
- North Carolina – 85 cents
- Maryland – 85 cents
The biggest gaps outside of Louisiana exist in:
- Utah – 67 cents
- Wyoming – 69 cents
- North Dakota – 71 cents
- Idaho – 73 cents
- Alabama – 73 cents
With the gender wage gap logged at 78.6 cents on the average across the country, much work remains to level the earning playing field for women. Depending on its success, California’s Fair Pay Act may serve as an example and a catalyst for closing wage loopholes across the country. Only time will tell its true ramifications on wage parity, but for women who earn less for equal work, it’s likely to be seen as a step in the right direction.
