LANSING – In a move to protect fair wages for all Michigan employees, State Representative Pam Byrnes (D-LyndonTownship) today announced that the House Labor Committee has passed a plan to crack down on wage discrimination and hold employers accountable when they do not provide equal pay for equal work. The package will now go before the full House.
"I believe in protecting all of Michigan's workers and families," said Byrnes, a lead sponsor of the package. "When a corporation or employer discriminates in pay, it hurts us all. This package creates penalties and legal avenues to punish those who deprive workers of their right to equal pay for equal work. We must crack down on the unfair practice of wage discrimination."
Michigan ranks 49th in the nation for the wage parity between men and women, according to the Michigan Pay Equity Network. Working women in Michigan are paid 67 cents for every dollar men make – a 33-percent pay gap. This puts Michigan far behind the national gender pay gap of 77 cents per dollar.
The Democratic plan sets down new penalties for wage discrimination and creates new legal avenues to pursue those who discriminate and deprive employees of their right to wage fairness. The plan will:
· Make failure to provide equal compensation for equal work a violation of the state's Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act.
· Make gender-based pay discrimination a misdemeanor. Non-complying employers could face multiple counts, punishable by up to 90 days in jail and a fine of $500 to $2,000, depending on the size of the business.
· Create a Commission on Pay Equity in the Michigan Department of Civil Rights, comprised of state leaders and community and business representatives.
Over the course of a lifetime, the average American woman working full time loses $700,000 to $2 million, according to Evelyn Murphy, an economist and president of The WAGE Project.
"It is too costly for our state to ignore this vital issue any longer," Byrnes said. "When women are paid less money, their families are also shortchanged. That means less money to put food on the table, make mortgage payments, or finance a child's college education. That hurts all of us."