Errington Speaks out for Equal Pay

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - State Senator Sue Errington (D-Muncie) joined those participating in the Pay Equity Rally at the Statehouse on Thursday to stand up for equal wages in Indiana. Nationally, women make 78 cents for every dollar a man makes. The wage gap in Indiana is even greater as women in the Hoosier state only make 72 cents to every man’s dollar.

Along with voicing her concern on wage discrimination, Errington spoke to the women’s groups about two bills that she hopes will help bridge the gap of wage disparity in Indiana. Senate Bill (SB) 130 and its companion in the House, House Bill (HB) 1133, authored by Representatives Linda Lawson and Shelli VanDenburg, require Indiana’s Civil Rights Commission to establish a job evaluation system to determine the comparable value of the work performed by each class of state employees.

The study is designed to answer the question of whether state jobs dominated by women or minorities are paid equally to state jobs dominated by men when the level of skills, effort, and responsibility needed to do the job is the same. At the end of the evaluation, a report will be made to the Indiana General Assembly.

“First we need to identify when and where wage disparity occurs,” said Errington. “And that’s what these bills are designed to do.”

Currently both bills are in the Senate Pensions and Labor Committee and the House Labor and Employment Committee though neither have been scheduled for a hearing.

On a national level, the Obama administration has put women’s equality at the forefront of their agenda. Last week President Obama signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act into law. This new law restores the long-standing interpretation of civil rights laws and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) policies that allow employees to challenge any discriminatory paycheck they receive.

“By making the Lilly Ledbetter bill the first to be signed, President Obama put pay discrimination at the top of the national agenda, right where it belongs,” commented Errington. “It was a tremendous victory for women and we must keep that momentum going in Indiana. Hoosier women deserve better than 72 cents to the dollar.”

Among the many groups present to show their support were the Business and Professional Women (BPW), National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), American Association of University Women (AAUW), and the National Organization for Women (NOW).

For more information on Senator Errington, her legislative agenda or other State Senate business call    1-800-382-9467 or visit www.senatedemocrats.in.gov.