Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbara (D-Rotterdam) announced his support for a package of bills aimed at ending unfair wage discrimination in New York. The bills passed the Assembly earlier today.

“Unfortunately there are still workers who are being discriminated against based upon their sex, race or their national origin,” said Santabarbara. “All New Yorkers deserve nothing less than equal pay for equal work.”

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).

  Santabarbara noted that women in New York make 84 cents for every dollar men earn, creating a yearly pay gap of roughly $8,275 between men and women working full time in New York State.ⁱ 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

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

  ii. Ibid.