Bill Text: NJ S1395 | 2010-2011 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Concerns gender equity in the workplace. *
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2010-03-11 - Received in the Assembly, Referred to Assembly Labor Committee [S1395 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2010-S1395-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator LORETTA WEINBERG
District 37 (Bergen)
SYNOPSIS
Concerns pay equity in the workplace.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning the elimination of pay disparities between men and women in the workplace and amending P.L.1999, c.223.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 2 of P.L.1999 c.223 (C.34:15C-22) is amended to read as follows:
2. The Council shall:
a. Assess the effectiveness of State programs designed to provide gender equity in labor, education and training;
b. Make recommendations to the Commissioners of the Departments of Community Affairs, Education, Human Services and Labor and Workforce Development, and the [Chairperson] Executive Director of the Commission on Higher Education regarding the needs, priorities, programs and policies related to access and equity for labor, education and workforce training throughout the State;
c. Review current and proposed legislation and regulations pertaining to gender equity in labor, education and workforce training and make recommendations regarding possible legislation and regulations to the State Employment and Training Commission and the Division on Women;
d. Develop policies to insure that State agencies set benchmarks and integrate their data collection systems to assess progress toward achieving gender equity and take action to insure that appropriate data collection systems exist where needed;
e. Develop policies to promote linkages among individuals, schools, organizations and public agencies providing gender equity services and programs;
f. Educate and provide information to the public on the issues and current developments in gender equity by issuing reports and holding events such as conferences and symposia;
g. Annually assess the implementation of the recommendations of the Gender Equity Task Force of the State Employment and Training Commission which were published in the reports of the task force entitled, "Leveling the Playing Field: Removing Barriers for Women in New Jersey's Employment and Training Programs," and "Balancing the Equation: A Report on Gender Equity in Education"; [and]
h. Submit an annual report to the Governor, the Legislature, the State Employment and Training Commission and the Division on Women of its assessments and recommendations made pursuant to this section;
i. Conduct studies and promote research to develop the means to correct the conditions leading to pay disparities between men and women and publish and otherwise make available to employers, labor organizations, professional associations, educational institutions, the media and the general public the findings resulting from these studies and other materials;
j. Develop and make available guidelines to enable employers to evaluate job categories based on objective criteria, such as educational requirements, skill requirements, independence, working conditions and responsibility; and
k. Establish a Statewide award for equity in the workplace to be presented to a workplace, as shall be defined by the Council, that, at a minimum, has demonstrated it has made a substantial effort to eliminate pay disparities between men and women, and thus deserves special recognition, in addition to any other requirements and specifications the Council deems appropriate in the determination of the award.
(cf: P.L.1999, c.223, s.2)
2. This act shall take effect on the first day of the fourth month next following the date of enactment, but the Executive Director of the State Employment and Training Commission may take such anticipatory administrative action in advance thereof as shall be necessary for the implementation of this act.
STATEMENT
Women have entered the workforce in record numbers over the past 50 years and comprised 49 percent of the workforce in 2007. Even when factors such as industry, occupation, race, marital status and job tenure are included in the calculations, in 2000 women still only earned, on average, 80 percent of what men earned in the United States. In New Jersey, women comprise approximately 47 percent of the workforce and in 2005 women earned, on average, 76 percent of what men earned.
This bill directs the Council on Gender Parity in Labor and Education to implement certain programs to eliminate the pay disparity between the genders.
The existence of such a pay disparity affects the State, national and international economy through a variety of means, such as: depressing the wages of working families; undermining women's retirement security; and reducing the effectiveness of the overall workforce because all workers are not being equally valued.
All State departments and agencies should be advocates of equal pay and should strive to ensure that all persons are compensated adequately for their work, regardless of gender. The State Employment and Training Commission (SETC), located in, but not of, the Department of Labor and Workforce Development was created to develop and assist in the implementation of a State employment and training policy with the goal of providing each citizen of the State with equal access to employment and training. The Council on Gender Parity in Labor and Education was established in the SETC in 1999 and has focused on research and the dissemination of information regarding gender equity in labor, education and training.
This bill specifically revises the council's duties to include: conducting studies and promoting research to develop the means to correct the conditions leading to pay disparities between men and women; disseminating this information to employers, labor organizations, professional associations, educational institutions, the media and the general public; developing and making available guidelines to enable employers to evaluate job categories based on objective criteria; and, establishing a Statewide award for pay equity in the workplace.
This bill was inspired by H.R.1338, the "Paycheck Fairness Act" passed by the United States House of Representatives on July 31, 2008 to amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to provide more effective remedies to victims of discrimination in the payment of wages on the basis of sex.
