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What I've Been Reading This Week: Equal Pay Edition


A few weeks ago we had posts dedicated to labor law and HR related matters.  Following several equal pay related posts over the past few weeks (and the fact that I came across several other equal pay related articles this week), I thought it appropriate to dedicate this post to that very topic.

As always, below are a couple articles that caught my eye this week.


Jackson Mississippi City Council Approves Equal Pay Ordinance

A few weeks ago, the Jackson Mississippi City Council unanimously approved an equal pay ordinance for city workers, set to take effect on June 14th.  Of note, the ordinance prohibits city job applicants from being asked about their salary history as well as requiring city workers to be paid based on (and not deviate) from the city's official plan.  Private employers in Jackson are not covered under this ordinance; only city employees.  With that being said, this is a broad step forward for city workers.



Sarah Elms at The Blade wrote an article earlier this month in which she provided an update on the equal pay ordinance currently being considered by the Toledo City Council.  In essence, the ordinance seeks to bar Toledo employers from asking applicants about their salary history, which would instead have employers set an applicant's salary based upon their experience (rather than their gender.)  There is some disagreement among the City Council, with some suggesting this ordinance would help curb the wage gap while others have argued it would impose an unnecessary level of regulation on employers in Toledo.  Whether there is enough support among the Toledo City Council to get this equal pay ordinance across the finish line remains to be seen.  Stay tuned.



Recently, by a 9 - 6 vote, the Louisiana House Labor Committee rejected bills that would have let local authorities determine their own minimum wage rates and implement equal pay measures.  Although there has been widespread support among Democrats in the state to approve such measures, the particular bills could not find enough support to advance.  With that being said, with equal pay becoming an even more hot button issue (due in no small part to the upcoming 2020 Presidential election), I would not be surprised to see similar legislation be introduced in the Louisiana Legislature sooner rather than later.



Speaking in broad terms, equal pay laws should achieve their intended affect of bringing about pay equality in the workplace.  However, as Quentin Fottrell at MarketWatch writes, there are some drawbacks that have been reported.  Of note, a recent study has found that salary transparency has led some employers to lower overall salaries rather than lifting a woman's salary to the level of their male co-workers.  That should be nothing short of concerning as women in the workplace might appear to be increasing their salary when it is actually instead a matter of employers lowering salaries across the board.

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