Senate Bill sb1882
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida Senate - 2004 SB 1882
By Senator Dawson
29-1522-04
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to wage discrimination;
3 providing a short title; providing for the
4 director of Workforce Innovation to appoint the
5 Equal Pay Commission; providing membership
6 criteria; requiring the commission to conduct a
7 study; specifying the subject of the study;
8 providing an effective date.
9
10 WHEREAS, despite federal and state laws banning
11 discrimination in employment and pay in both the public and
12 private sectors, wage differentials persist between women and
13 men and between minorities and nonminorities in the same jobs
14 and in jobs that are dissimilar but that require equivalent
15 composites of skill, effort, responsibility, and working
16 conditions, and
17 WHEREAS, the existence of such wage differentials
18 depresses wages and living standards for employees, thereby
19 compromising their health and efficiency, reduces family
20 incomes and contributes to higher poverty rates among
21 households headed by females and minority households, prevents
22 the maximum utilization of available labor resources, and
23 tends to cause labor disputes, thereby burdening and
24 obstructing commerce, and
25 WHEREAS, the Florida Civil Rights Act of 1992, sections
26 760.01-760.11, Florida Statutes, states that it is an unlawful
27 employment practice for an employer "to discriminate against
28 any individual with respect to compensation, terms,
29 conditions, or privileges of employment because of such
30 individual's race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age,
31 handicap, or marital status," and
1
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida Senate - 2004 SB 1882
29-1522-04
1 WHEREAS, discrimination in wage-setting practices has
2 played a role in depressing wages for women and minorities
3 generally, and
4 WHEREAS, many individuals work in occupations that are
5 dominated by individuals of their own sex, race, or national
6 origin, and discrimination in hiring, job assignments, and
7 promotion has played a role in establishing and maintaining
8 segregated work forces, and
9 WHEREAS, eliminating discrimination in compensation
10 based on sex, race, and national origin would have positive
11 effects, including providing a solution to problems in the
12 economy created by discriminatory wage differentials, reducing
13 the number of working women and people of color earning low
14 wages, thereby lowering their incidence of poverty during
15 normal working years and in retirement, and promoting stable
16 families by raising family incomes, and
17 WHEREAS, it is the purpose of this act to correct and
18 as rapidly as practicable eliminate discriminatory wage
19 practices based on sex, race, color, religion, national
20 origin, age, handicap, or marital status, NOW, THEREFORE,
21
22 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
23
24 Section 1. Equal Pay Commission Act; commission
25 membership, duties.--
26 (1) This section may be cited as the "Equal Pay
27 Commission Act."
28 (2) Within 90 days after the effective date of this
29 section, the director of Workforce Innovation shall appoint a
30 commission consisting of nine members, to be known as the
31 Equal Pay Commission.
2
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida Senate - 2004 SB 1882
29-1522-04
1 (3) Membership on the commission shall include:
2 (a) Two representatives of business in this state who
3 are appointed from among individuals nominated by state
4 business organizations and business trade associations;
5 (b) Two representatives of labor organizations who
6 have been nominated by state labor federations. As used in
7 this paragraph, the term "state labor federation" means an
8 organization that:
9 1. Is chartered by a federation of national or
10 international unions;
11 2. Admits to membership local unions; and
12 3. Exists primarily to carry on educational,
13 legislative, and coordinating activities;
14 (c) Two representatives of organizations the
15 objectives of which include the elimination of pay disparities
16 between men and women or between minorities and nonminorities,
17 and who have undertaken advocacy, educational, or legislative
18 initiatives in pursuit of such objective; and
19 (d) Three individuals drawn from higher education or
20 research institutions who have experience and expertise in the
21 collection and analysis of data concerning such pay
22 disparities and whose research has already been used in
23 efforts to promote the elimination of those disparities.
24 (4) The commission shall make a full and complete
25 study of:
26 (a) The extent of wage disparities in the public
27 sector between men and women and between minorities and
28 nonminorities;
29 (b) Those factors that cause or tend to cause such
30 disparities, including segregation between women and men and
31 between minorities and nonminorities across and within
3
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida Senate - 2004 SB 1882
29-1522-04
1 occupations, payment of lower wages for work in
2 female-dominated occupations, child-rearing responsibilities,
3 and education and training;
4 (c) The consequences of such disparities on the
5 economy and on affected families; and
6 (d) Actions, including proposed legislation, which are
7 likely to lead to the elimination and prevention of such
8 disparities.
9 Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a
10 law.
11
12 *****************************************
13 SENATE SUMMARY
14 Creates the "Equal Pay Commission Act." Provides for the
director of Workforce Innovation to appoint the Equal Pay
15 Commission. Provides membership criteria. Requires the
commission to conduct a study and specifies the subject
16 of the study.
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
4
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.