Equal Pay Bill Advances in MA Legislature

On Thursday, July 30th the Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development released H.1773/S.983, An Act to establish pay equity, with a recommendation that the bill ought to pass. Also known as the Massachusetts Equal Pay Bill, this legislation was sponsored by Representative Jay Livingstone (D-Boston) and Senator Patricia Jehlen (D-Somerville) and co-sponsored by 120 other legislators.

Seventy years ago, Massachusetts passed the nation’s first equal pay act. However, full-time working women still only make 80.8% of what their male counterparts make, with women of color making even less. H.1773/S.983 aims to strengthen this original law and close the wage gap by clarifying how to compare jobs to prevent wage discrimination on the basis of gender, establishing pay transparency, and requiring fairness in hiring practices.

Attorney General Maura Healey, Treasurer Deborah Goldberg, lead co-sponsors Senator Karen Spilka (D-Ashland) and Representative Ellen Story (D-Amherst), and dozens of other legislators joined Rep. Livingstone and Sen. Jehlen in testifying on the bill’s behalf before the committee on Tuesday, July 21st.

“The legislative process is often slow and arduous,” said Sen. Jehlen. “It’s very exciting to see such an overwhelming turnout of advocates, state officials, and legislators speak on behalf of a bill and have it produce a result so quickly. I’m thrilled that the Equal Pay Bill has been favorably reported out of committee and hope we can pass it into law this session.”

“As we’ve heard here today, closing the gender wage gap has been a long time coming, and we need to fight until every worker in the Commonwealth is compensated for the work that they do,” said Rep. Livingstone. “Massachusetts should lead the way for Equal Pay.”

The legislators are working in collaboration with the Equal Pay Coalition, founded by the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women, the Women’s Bar Association, and the Massachusetts Chapter of the National Organization for Women. The coalition now includes 38 organizations, all of which are advocates for eliminating the wage gap and requiring equal pay for women and people of color.

“The movement of the Equal Pay Bill is a testament to the efforts of our champions in the State House and the many activists and organizations who have thrown their support behind this bill,” said Katie Prisco-Buxbaum, Communications Director for the Equal Pay Coalition. “The Coalition is looking forward to building upon our organizing and advocacy work to continue this momentum.”

The bill now goes to the Senate for further deliberation.

– Submitted by State Senator Patricia Jehlen’s office