Rant = ON
You know what Snotty will say on Monday morning when asked about his repeal of the 2009 Equal Pay Enforcement act? I betcha a virtual nickel he will say, "Its a useless piece of legislation, and not a single lawsuit has been filed under the law."
Follow me over the Orange Kerfuffle.
The Equal Pay law wasn’t just about women—it also offered protection from discrimination based on race, age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, and other factors. But it was enacted largely in response to a large gap between men and women’s compensation, one that was worse than average in Wisconsin—in 2009 the state ranked 36th in the country in terms of workplace gender parity....
To bring a suit under the law, a plaintiff first had to go through a state-level administrative process to prove discrimination. It was rigorous enough that in the two years the law was in effect, not a single equal-pay lawsuit was filed. Still, the law’s supporters believe it has been effective in spurring businesses to pay women more fairly. Thus by 2010, the state had climbed to 24th in the national gender-parity rankings, with women making 78 percent as much as men, compared to 77 percent nationally. “Since the law was put into place, employers actually took notice and were very conscious of the fact that they had to follow this law or they were at risk of a lawsuit,” Sinicki argues.
Link Emphasis: mine.
So take a look at Wisconsin's jobs numbers compared to jobs numbers nationally. One can see a deepening recession with unemployment in Wisconsin in 2009 above 7% ranging to above 9.5% in 2011.
So answer me this Snotty: How come, in the midst of a deepening recession, with higher unemployment for the duration of this bill, the women of Wisconsin suddenly got better pay? Could it be that employers felt that the women suddenly needed to be better cared for? Or could it be that employers didn't want to be sued?
Rant = off.
For your listening pleasure: