Assemblymember Phil Steck (D-Colonie) announced that the Assembly passed legislation he co-sponsored to ensure women in New York State receives equal pay for equal work. The bill, titled the New York State Fair Pay Act, is the centerpiece of a package of legislation aimed at addressing pay inequality for women and other groups (A.6937).

“People who do the same job deserve the same paycheck. This is a simple concept that I’ve fought for in both the legislature and in my career as an attorney, where I have represented women victimized by unequal pay,” Steck said. “This legislation will move us closer to finally becoming a state where pay cannot be held back by gender-based discrimination.”

In the United States, women earn 79 cents for every dollar men make. Women of color make even less, with African-American and Latina women making just 64 and 54 cents on the dollar, respectively.¹, ² While there are already laws against wage discrimination, the Assembly’s newly passed bills would provide stronger protections and enable effective enforcement.

The New York State Fair Pay Act extends equal pay protections to include jobs that require the same amount of skill and effort. It also helps fix the problem of undervaluing positions that have traditionally been filled by women and minorities.

Other bills in the equal pay package promote fair and equal compensation by:

• Directing the Civil Service Commission and the Department of Labor to compile reports on how many women were referred to training for jobs that have a higher earning potential (A.9755).
• Making sure workers have a private right of action to sue for compensation when pay is not equal (A.9754).
• Studying and righting any unequal pay among state employees (A.5008-A, A.437-A).

Over a working lifetime, the wage disparity costs a typical American woman over $700,000.³ To demonstrate the urgent need to close the pay gap, the Assembly has named April 12 Equal Pay Day in New York State (K.1197). April 12 indicates how far women must work into the new year to match what men earned the year prior.

“Unequal pay doesn’t just hurt women and minorities, whose paychecks suffer when we allow inequality to persist. It harms our entire society,” Steck said. “This legislation is a strong step toward correcting this unfair reality.”

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