Senate Bill sb1004c1
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Florida Senate - 2003 CS for SB 1004
By the Committee on Commerce, Economic Opportunities, and
Consumer Services; and Senator Dawson
310-1894-03
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to wage discrimination;
3 creating the "Equal Pay Commission Act";
4 providing for the director of Workforce
5 Innovation to appoint the Equal Pay Commission;
6 providing membership criteria; requiring the
7 commission to conduct a study and submit a
8 report; specifying the subject of the study;
9 prohibiting commission members from receiving
10 compensation; authorizing payment of per diem
11 and travel expenses for commission members;
12 requiring the Agency for Workforce Innovation
13 to provide staff and administrative support for
14 the commission; providing for expiration of the
15 commission; providing an appropriation;
16 providing an effective date.
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18 WHEREAS, despite federal and state laws banning
19 discrimination in employment and pay in both the public and
20 private sectors, wage differentials persist between women and
21 men and between minorities and nonminorities in the same jobs
22 and in jobs that are dissimilar but that require equivalent
23 composites of skill, effort, responsibility, and working
24 conditions, and
25 WHEREAS, the existence of such wage differentials
26 depresses wages and living standards for employees, thereby
27 compromising their health and efficiency, reduces family
28 incomes and contributes to higher poverty rates among
29 households headed by females and minority households, prevents
30 the maximum utilization of available labor resources, and
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Florida Senate - 2003 CS for SB 1004
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1 tends to cause labor disputes, thereby burdening and
2 obstructing commerce, and
3 WHEREAS, the Florida Civil Rights Act of 1992, sections
4 760.01-760.11, Florida Statutes, states that it is an unlawful
5 employment practice for an employer "to discriminate against
6 any individual with respect to compensation, terms,
7 conditions, or privileges of employment because of such
8 individual's race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age,
9 handicap, or marital status," and
10 WHEREAS, discrimination in wage-setting practices has
11 played a role in depressing wages for women and minorities
12 generally, and
13 WHEREAS, many individuals work in occupations that are
14 dominated by individuals of their own sex, race, or national
15 origin, and discrimination in hiring, job assignments, and
16 promotion has played a role in establishing and maintaining
17 segregated work forces, and
18 WHEREAS, eliminating discrimination in compensation
19 based on sex, race, and national origin would have positive
20 effects, including providing a solution to problems in the
21 economy created by discriminatory wage differentials, reducing
22 the number of working women and people of color earning low
23 wages, thereby lowering their incidence of poverty during
24 normal working years and in retirement, and promoting stable
25 families by raising family incomes, and
26 WHEREAS, it is the purpose of this act to correct and
27 as rapidly as practicable eliminate discriminatory wage
28 practices based on sex, race, color, religion, national
29 origin, age, handicap, or marital status, NOW, THEREFORE,
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31 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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Florida Senate - 2003 CS for SB 1004
310-1894-03
1 Section 1. Equal Pay Commission Act; commission
2 membership, duties.--
3 (1) This section may be cited as the "Equal Pay
4 Commission Act."
5 (2) Within 90 days after the effective date of this
6 section, the director of Workforce Innovation shall appoint a
7 commission consisting of nine members, to be known as the
8 Equal Pay Commission.
9 (3) Membership on the commission shall include:
10 (a) Two representatives of business in this state who
11 are appointed from among individuals nominated by state
12 business organizations and business trade associations;
13 (b) Two representatives of labor organizations who
14 have been nominated by state labor federations. As used in
15 this paragraph, the term "state labor federation" means an
16 organization that:
17 1. Is chartered by a federation of national or
18 international unions;
19 2. Admits to membership local unions; and
20 3. Exists primarily to carry on educational,
21 legislative, and coordinating activities;
22 (c) Two representatives of organizations the
23 objectives of which include the elimination of pay disparities
24 between men and women or between minorities and nonminorities,
25 and who have undertaken advocacy, educational, or legislative
26 initiatives in pursuit of such objective; and
27 (d) Three individuals drawn from higher education or
28 research institutions who have experience and expertise in the
29 collection and analysis of data concerning such pay
30 disparities and whose research has already been used in
31 efforts to promote the elimination of those disparities.
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Florida Senate - 2003 CS for SB 1004
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1 (4) By January 15, 2004, the commission shall submit a
2 report to the Governor, the President of the Senate, the
3 Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the director of
4 Workforce Innovation. The report shall comprise a full and
5 complete study of:
6 (a) The extent of wage disparities in the public
7 sector between men and women and between minorities and
8 nonminorities;
9 (b) Those factors that cause or tend to cause such
10 disparities, including segregation between women and men and
11 between minorities and nonminorities across and within
12 occupations, payment of lower wages for work in
13 female-dominated occupations, child-rearing responsibilities,
14 and education and training;
15 (c) The consequences of such disparities on the
16 economy and on affected families; and
17 (d) Actions, including proposed legislation, which are
18 likely to lead to the elimination and prevention of such
19 disparities.
20 (5) Members of the commission shall serve without
21 compensation, but are entitled to per diem and travel expenses
22 as provided in section 112.061, Florida Statutes.
23 (6) The Agency for Workforce Innovation shall provide
24 staff and administrative support for the commission.
25 (7) This section expires June 30, 2004.
26 Section 2. The sum of $250,000 is appropriated from
27 the General Revenue Fund to the Agency for Workforce
28 Innovation for the purpose of implementing this act during the
29 2003-2004 fiscal year.
30 Section 3. This act shall take effect upon becoming a
31 law.
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Florida Senate - 2003 CS for SB 1004
310-1894-03
1 STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
2 Senate Bill 1004
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4 The committee substitute requires the Equal Pay Commission to
submit a report by January 15, 2004, to the Governor, the
5 President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of
Representatives, and the director of Workforce Innovation;
6 authorizes the payment of per diem and travel expenses for
commission members, but requires commission members to serve
7 without compensation; requires the Agency for Workforce
Innovation to provide staff and administrative support for the
8 commission; provides a $250,000 appropriation to implement the
act; and provides for the expiration of the commission on June
9 30, 2004.
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