Mae Flexer

Flexer Celebrates Final Passage of Gender Pay Equity Bill

Democrats in the State Senate today led final legislative passage (35-1) of HB 5386, An Act Concerning Pay Equity. Under this bill, employers would be prohibited from asking prospective employees about their previous wages, as evidence shows women disproportionately carry lower salaries from one job to the next.

“Pay inequity is a very serious problem across our country and in our state. We’ve heard a lot in recent years about the disparity in pay with women earning on average 80 cents for every dollar that men earn,” Senator Mae Flexer (D-Danielson) said. “But I also want to emphasize how it’s significantly worse for black women and Latina women, who earn 59 cents and 48 cents respectively for every dollar that a white man earns. That means they have to work twice as many hours to earn the same as a man. These statistics are completely unacceptable, and I’m so glad that Connecticut is catching up with Massachusetts by passing this equal pay bill. Also, having a law like this is important to Connecticut’s economy because it’s the kind of policy that keeps young people in our state by showing them we are a place that puts fairness at the forefront. This bill is going to go a long way toward not just addressing pay inequity, but also making Connecticut a place where people want to live a family.”

On average, unfair pay costs each working woman in Connecticut more than $10,000 every year. According to the National Women’s Law Center, women in Connecticut—on average—have to work until age 70 to earn what a man makes by the time he is 60.

The Senate Democrats originally introduced the legislation as a cornerstone of their Democratic Values agenda in order to help employees who take leave for pregnancy and other parental-related leave, is pleased the bill passed.

The bill, which previously passed the House 139-9, now heads to Governor Dannel P. Malloy’s desk for his signature or veto.