Assemblymember Cahill: Assembly Passes Legislation to Provide Equal Pay for Equal Work

April 22, 2005

Assemblymember Kevin Cahill (D-Ulster, Dutchess) today announced Assembly passage of legislation he supported designed to end wage discrimination in New York.

"According to the National Committee on Pay Equity, women working full time, year round, make only 76 cents for every dollar that a man makes – and it gets even worse for women of color who earn anywhere from 66 to 55 cents for every dollar," Assemblymember Cahill said. "There is no reason for this enormous gap in salaries between men and women. It is imperative that we help end wage discrimination."

To remedy discriminatory salary practices, the Assembly passed a resolution (K.480) urging Congress to provide pay equity for all people who perform work of comparable skill, effort and responsibility.

To help achieve pay equity for all New Yorkers, Assemblymember Cahill also supported legislation:

• Implementing a state policy of equal compensation for work of comparable worth for state and public employees (A.305);
• Making discriminatory salary practices unlawful -- especially in traditionally female-dominated occupations (A.2825);
• Enacting the New York State Fair Pay Act -- ensuring pay differentiation is not based on a person’s sex, race, or national origin (A.3637); and
• Making it a discriminatory practice for public employers to compensate employees of opposite sexes differently for work that is of comparable worth (A.1470).

"First and foremost, pay equity is about fairness for all people," Assemblymember Cahill said. "I urge the Senate and Governor to join us immediately, advance this legislative package, put an end to work-related discrimination and make New York a leader in wage fairness for others to follow."

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