Rep. MacDonald Addresses Equal Pay for Equal Work

Equal pay for equal work hasn’t been so equal in the last decade or so and Rep. Margaret MacDonald (D – Billings) has brought forth House Joint Resolution 16 to address pay discrimination. HJR 16 aims to study state implementation of pay and the problems associated with the public and private sectors related to equal pay for comparable work and develop guidelines to eliminate pay discrimination.

The U.S. congress passed the equal pay for equal work act in 1963 and in 1983 the Montana Legislature passed a law requiring the Department of Administration to make “continuous efforts to enhance the current classification plan and pay schedules” and “work toward the goal of establishing a standard of equal pay for comparable worth.” However, women today are making about $0.77 for every $1.00 earned by men. In Montana in the last 11 years, 82 lawsuits from the private and public sector have awarded a total of $377,000 to women who were affected by pay discrimination. In Montana, in 2008, a public sector male mid-level employee made $49,733 compared to an average of $45,202 earned by women in the same pay band.

Proponents of the legislation include MEA-MFT and the Montana Public Employees Association. Terry Minnow of MEA-MFT said that over a lifetime an average woman loses “$523,000 dollars to the wage gap” and this legislation would simply require the Department of Administration to “carry out the law that was passed 26 years ago.”

The study would analyze both the public and private sector to determine if pay discrimination is taking place, where it’s taking place and why it’s taking place. It would also develop guidelines for future implementation of pay plans to ensure equal pay for equal work.

Rep. MacDonald described the joint resolution, saying it is “addressing comparable worth for women in the workplace which addresses one of the root causes of poverty.” Confronting issues like this head on “will help to lift many families out of poverty in the state” she said.