Governor Phil Murphy signed the strongest equal pay legislation in the nation, according to experts. The policy stated that if employers do not prove why they are paying women less than they are paying men, women could sue them in court for "up to six years in pay back."
Murphy stated that this will be life-changing and that the state is not waiting around.
Some examples of fast changes were the several court cases that followed the passing of the bill. After that, there was a high-profile settlement in Verona that payed 400,000 USD to the female township clerk and female court administrator. They proved in court that they were being payed less than their department heads.
And even after all that, the wage gap in New Jersey is still very noticeable.
As average males received a wage of 67,077 USD, women received 53,810 USD on average. This data is in accordance with the U.S. Census' American Community Survey. This brings the wage gap to about 80.3 cents to every dollar earned by males.
As the average in the US is that women earn 82 cents to every dollar earned by men, New Jersey is below average and "ranks 20th in the nation in pay equity." This is also why it is still not sure whether or not the new Diane B. Allen Equal Pay Act will help the state narrow the wage gap.
The pandemic is also said to become a major setback because of losses of jobs for women that have to stay with their children at home. COVID-19 has more setbacks for women rather than men in New Jersey. Women often have to stop working or work part-time.
Citations:
Website: https://www.nj.com/data/2021/05/heres-how-much-less-nj-women-earned-compared-to-men-and-why-experts-say-its-getting-worse.html#:~:text=But%20the%20pay%20gap%20between,U.S.%20Census'%20American%20Community%20Survey.
Photos: https://www.njisj.org/economic_justice
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