| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to employment discrimination; creating the |
| 3 | Helen Gordon Davis Equal Pay Protection Act; providing |
| 4 | legislative findings relating to equal pay for equal work |
| 5 | for women; recognizing the importance of the Agency for |
| 6 | Workforce Innovation and the Commission on Human Relations |
| 7 | in ensuring such equal pay; requiring the agency to |
| 8 | conduct studies and provide information to employers, |
| 9 | labor organizations, and the public concerning the means |
| 10 | available to eliminate pay disparities between men and |
| 11 | women; creating the Governor's Recognition Award for Pay |
| 12 | Equity in the Workplace; requiring that the award be made |
| 13 | annually to businesses in this state which have engaged in |
| 14 | activities to eliminate the barriers to equal pay for |
| 15 | equal work for women; requiring the director of the agency |
| 16 | and the chair of the commission to work cooperatively with |
| 17 | the Executive Office of the Governor to create eligibility |
| 18 | criteria for employers to receive the award; providing an |
| 19 | effective date. |
| 20 |
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| 21 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 22 |
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| 23 | Section 1. Equal pay recognition; awards.-- |
| 24 | (1) SHORT TITLE.--This section may be cited as the "Helen |
| 25 | Gordon Davis Equal Pay Protection Act." |
| 26 | (2) LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND INTENT; DUTIES OF AGENCY FOR |
| 27 | WORKFORCE INNOVATION AND COMMISSION ON HUMAN RELATIONS.-- |
| 28 | (a) The Legislature finds that women have entered the |
| 29 | workforce in record numbers over the past 50 years and, despite |
| 30 | the enactment of the Equal Pay Act in 1963, many women continue |
| 31 | to earn significantly lower salaries and pay than men for equal |
| 32 | work. These pay disparities exist in both the private and |
| 33 | governmental sectors. In many instances, the pay disparities are |
| 34 | the result of continued intentional discrimination against women |
| 35 | or the lingering effects of past discrimination against women. |
| 36 | (b) The Legislature further finds that the existence of |
| 37 | such pay disparities: |
| 38 | 1. Depresses the wages of working families who rely on the |
| 39 | wages of all members of the family. |
| 40 | 2. Undermines the retirement security of women, which is |
| 41 | based on the wages that women earn while in the workforce. |
| 42 | 3. Prevents the optimum use of available labor resources. |
| 43 | 4. Continues to spread and perpetuate, through commerce |
| 44 | and the instrumentalities of commerce, among workers in all |
| 45 | states. |
| 46 | 5. Burdens commerce and the free flow of goods in |
| 47 | commerce. |
| 48 | 6. Constitutes an unfair method of competition in |
| 49 | commerce. |
| 50 | 7. Leads to labor disputes that burden and obstruct |
| 51 | commerce and the free flow of goods in commerce. |
| 52 | 8. Interferes with the orderly and fair marketing of goods |
| 53 | in commerce. |
| 54 | 9. Deprives female workers of equal protection on the |
| 55 | basis of gender in violation of the Fifth and Fourteenth |
| 56 | Amendments to the United States Constitution. |
| 57 | (c) The Legislature further finds that artificial barriers |
| 58 | to the payment of equal wages continue to exist decades after |
| 59 | the enactment of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, s. 29 |
| 60 | U.S.C. 201 et seq., and the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. |
| 61 | s. 2000a. These barriers have resulted, in large part, because |
| 62 | the federal Equal Pay Act has not worked as Congress originally |
| 63 | intended. Improvements and modifications to the law are |
| 64 | necessary to ensure that the act provides effective protection |
| 65 | to those subject to pay discrimination on the basis of their |
| 66 | gender. The Legislature finds that eliminating these artificial |
| 67 | barriers would have positive effects, including: |
| 68 | 1. Providing a solution to problems in the economy created |
| 69 | by unfair pay disparities. |
| 70 | 2. Substantially reducing the number of working women who |
| 71 | earn unfairly low wages, thereby reducing their dependence on |
| 72 | public assistance. |
| 73 | 3. Promoting stable families by enabling each family |
| 74 | member to earn a fair rate of pay. |
| 75 | 4. Remedying the effects of past discrimination on the |
| 76 | basis of gender and ensuring that female workers are afforded |
| 77 | equal protection in the future. |
| 78 | 5. Ensuring equal protection under s. 2, Article I of the |
| 79 | State Constitution. |
| 80 | (d) The Legislature recognizes that the Agency for |
| 81 | Workforce Innovation and the Commission on Human Relations have |
| 82 | important and unique responsibilities to help ensure that women |
| 83 | receive equal pay for equal work. |
| 84 | 1. The Agency for Workforce Innovation shall: |
| 85 | a. Collect information about women's pay and make the |
| 86 | information publicly available. |
| 87 | b. Ensure that companies receiving state contracts comply |
| 88 | with antidiscrimination and affirmative action requirements of |
| 89 | this state relating to equal employment opportunity. |
| 90 | c. Disseminate information about women's rights in the |
| 91 | workplace. |
| 92 | d. Assist women who have been victims of pay |
| 93 | discrimination to obtain remedies. |
| 94 | e. Be proactive in investigating and prosecuting |
| 95 | violations of laws requiring equal pay, especially systemic |
| 96 | violations, and in enforcing all mandates of those laws. |
| 97 | 2. The Commission on Human Relations is the primary |
| 98 | enforcement agency for claims made under the Equal Pay Act. The |
| 99 | commission shall issue regulations and guidance on appropriate |
| 100 | interpretations of the act. |
| 101 | 3. As a result of a stronger commitment by the Agency for |
| 102 | Workforce Innovation and the Commission on Human Relations to |
| 103 | their responsibilities, more effective remedies, and increased |
| 104 | information about the provisions added to the Equal Pay Act of |
| 105 | 1963, this section, and wage data, women will be better able to |
| 106 | recognize and enforce their rights. |
| 107 | (e) The Legislature recognizes that certain employers have |
| 108 | already made great strides in eradicating unfair pay disparities |
| 109 | in the workplace and intends that their achievements be |
| 110 | recognized. |
| 111 | (3) RESEARCH; EDUCATION; OUTREACH.--The director of |
| 112 | Workforce Innovation shall conduct studies and provide |
| 113 | information to employers, labor organizations, and the public |
| 114 | concerning the means that are available to eliminate pay |
| 115 | disparities between men and women. These efforts shall include: |
| 116 | (a) Conducting and promoting research to develop the means |
| 117 | to expeditiously correct the conditions leading to pay |
| 118 | disparities. |
| 119 | (b) Publishing and otherwise making available to |
| 120 | employers, labor organizations, professional associations, |
| 121 | educational institutions, the media, and the public findings |
| 122 | resulting from studies and other materials relating to |
| 123 | eliminating pay disparities. |
| 124 | (c) Sponsoring and assisting state and community |
| 125 | informational and educational programs. |
| 126 | (d) Providing information to employers, labor |
| 127 | organizations, professional associations, and other interested |
| 128 | persons on the means of eliminating pay disparities. |
| 129 | (e) Recognizing and promoting the achievements of |
| 130 | employers, labor organizations, and professional associations |
| 131 | that have worked to eliminate pay disparities. |
| 132 | (4) GOVERNOR'S RECOGNITION AWARD FOR PAY EQUITY IN THE |
| 133 | WORKPLACE.-- |
| 134 | (a) There is established the Governor's Recognition Award |
| 135 | for Pay Equity in the Workplace, which shall be awarded annually |
| 136 | to businesses in this state that have engaged in activities to |
| 137 | eliminate the barriers to equal pay for equal work. The ceremony |
| 138 | to recognize the employers shall be organized in such a way so |
| 139 | as to encourage proactive efforts by other employers to equalize |
| 140 | pay between men and women performing equal work. |
| 141 | (b) The director of Workforce Innovation and the chair of |
| 142 | the Commission on Human Relations, in cooperation with the |
| 143 | Executive Office of the Governor, shall establish criteria for |
| 144 | employers to be eligible to receive the award. The criteria |
| 145 | shall include a requirement that an employer must have made |
| 146 | substantial efforts to eliminate pay disparities between men and |
| 147 | women, which efforts deserve special recognition. The director |
| 148 | shall establish procedures for applications, regional |
| 149 | ceremonies, and presentations of the award. |
| 150 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2009. |