HB 1175 2003
1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to wage discrimination; creating the
3	"Equal Pay Commission Act"; providing for the director of
4	Workforce Innovation to appoint the Equal Pay Commission;
5	providing membership criteria; requiring the commission to
6	conduct a study; specifying the subject of the study;
7	providing an effective date.
8
9	WHEREAS, despite federal and state laws banning
10	discrimination in employment and pay in both the public and
11	private sectors, wage differentials persist between women and
12	men and between minorities and nonminorities in the same jobs
13	and in jobs that are dissimilar but that require equivalent
14	composites of skill, effort, responsibility, and working
15	conditions, and
16	WHEREAS, the existence of such wage differentials depresses
17	wages and living standards for employees, thereby compromising
18	their health and efficiency, reduces family incomes and
19	contributes to higher poverty rates among households headed by
20	females and minority households, prevents the maximum
21	utilization of available labor resources, and tends to cause
22	labor disputes, thereby burdening and obstructing commerce, and
23	WHEREAS, the Florida Civil Rights Act of 1992, sections
24	760.01-760.11, Florida Statutes, states that it is an unlawful
25	employment practice for an employer "to discriminate against any
26	individual with respect to compensation, terms, conditions, or
27	privileges of employment, because of such individual's race,
28	color, religion, sex, national origin, age, handicap, or marital
29	status," and
30	WHEREAS, discrimination in wage-setting practices has
31	played a role in depressing wages for women and minorities
32	generally, and
33	WHEREAS, many individuals work in occupations that are
34	dominated by individuals of their own sex, race, or national
35	origin, and discrimination in hiring, job assignments, and
36	promotion has played a role in establishing and maintaining
37	segregated workforces, and
38	WHEREAS, eliminating discrimination in compensation based
39	on sex, race, and national origin would have positive effects,
40	including providing a solution to problems in the economy
41	created by discriminatory wage differentials, reducing the
42	number of working women and people of color earning low wages,
43	thereby lowering their incidence of poverty during normal
44	working years and in retirement, and promoting stable families
45	by raising family incomes, and
46	WHEREAS, it is the purpose of this act to correct and as
47	rapidly as practicable eliminate discriminatory wage practices
48	based on sex, race, color, religion, national origin, age,
49	handicap, or marital status, NOW, THEREFORE,
50
51	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
52
53	Section 1. Equal Pay Commission Act; commission
54	membership, duties.--
55	(1) This section may be cited as the "Equal Pay Commission
56	Act."
57	(2) Within 90 days after the effective date of this
58	section, the director of Workforce Innovation shall appoint a
59	commission consisting of nine members, to be known as the Equal
60	Pay Commission.
61	(3) Membership on the commission shall include:
62	(a) Two representatives of business in this state who are
63	appointed from among individuals nominated by state business
64	organizations and business trade associations;
65	(b) Two representatives of labor organizations who have
66	been nominated by state labor federations. As used in this
67	paragraph, the term "state labor federation" means an
68	organization that:
69	1. Is chartered by a federation of national or
70	international unions;
71	2. Admits to membership local unions; and
72	3. Exists primarily to carry on educational, legislative,
73	and coordinating activities;
74	(c) Two representatives of organizations the objectives of
75	which include the elimination of pay disparities between men and
76	women or between minorities and nonminorities, and who have
77	undertaken advocacy, educational, or legislative initiatives in
78	pursuit of such objectives; and
79	(d) Three individuals drawn from higher education or
80	research institutions who have experience and expertise in the
81	collection and analysis of data concerning such pay disparities
82	and whose research has already been used in efforts to promote
83	the elimination of those disparities.
84	(4) The commission shall make a full and complete study
85	of:
86	(a) The extent of wage disparities in the public sector
87	between men and women and between minorities and nonminorities;
88	(b) Those factors that cause or tend to cause such
89	disparities, including segregation between women and men and
90	between minorities and nonminorities across and within
91	occupations, payment of lower wages for work in female-dominated
92	occupations, child-rearing responsibilities, and education and
93	training;
94	(c) The consequences of such disparities on the economy
95	and on affected families; and
96	(d) Actions, including proposed legislation, which are
97	likely to lead to the elimination and prevention of such
98	disparities.
99	Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.