MA House and Senate Vote to Strengthen State’s Equal Pay Law

Massachusetts was the first state in the US to pass an equal pay law, all the way back in 1945, and the Legislature updated it in 2016 to prohibit employers from asking job applicants for salary history, prohibit employers from banning discussion of wage information, and require equal pay for comparable work.

But gender- and race-based pay gaps continue to exist in the workplace, and the House and Senate have taken action to strengthen the equal pay in response.

The Frances Perkins Workplace Equity Act, named after the first female Secretary of Labor in the US, would require employers with 25+ employees to disclose the salary or wage range for a position in all job postings, provide the salary range to employees offered promotions and transfers, and provide the pay range to employees for their current roles if requested.

It would also require covered employers with 100 or more employees to supply wage and demographic information to the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development. You can’t fix the inequities you do not see.

Earlier this month, on October 4, the House voted 148 to 8 to pass this bill.

The 8 NOs were all Republicans: Donnie Berthiaume (R-Spencer), Nicholas Boldyga (R-Southwick), David DeCoste (R-Norwell), Marc Lombardo (R-Billerica), Kelly Pease (R-Westfield), Michael Soter (R-Bellingham), Alyson Sullivan-Almeida (R-Abington), and Steven Xiarhos (R-Barnstable).

Yesterday (October 19), the Senate voted 39 to 1 to pass the bill, with the sole NO being Republican Ryan Fattman (R-Sutton).

Two Emails You Can Send Today in Support of Gender Equity

The end of the legislative session is coming up fast, and today we wanted to highlight one email that you can send to your state senator and one to your state rep to advance a more equitable commonwealth.

One Email to Your Senator

Your senator needs to hear from you about two simple but transformative steps MA can take to advance gender equity.

(1) We Need Wage Equity Now

In 2016, the Massachusetts Legislature passed an equal pay law, aimed at closing the gender wage gap. But without good data and tracking, the law is hard to implement: indeed, some numbers point to a widening of the gap since then.

That’s why passing the Wage Equity Now bill (S.2721) is so important. The bill would require all employers — private, non-profit, and governmental — with 100 or more employees to report the average wages by gender, race, and ethnicity for the entire organization, and to publish wage ranges in job applications and postings. This data would offer a vital tool for creating accountability and measuring progress.

The bill is currently sitting in the Senate Ways & Means Committee, and your senator needs to hear from you about the importance of bringing it to the floor.

(2) Gender Justice & Housing Justice

The Senate is taking up an economic development bill later this week. Last session, the Legislature passed a version of the HOMES Act, which would create a process for sealing eviction records. Governor Baker vetoed it, and the Legislature didn’t have the time to override him.

The housing crisis is a gender equity issue. Studies have shown that women, and especially women of color, face higher rates of eviction than men, and households headed by single mothers have some of the highest eviction rates.

Currently, in Massachusetts, even if a tenant wins in eviction court, their eviction record is public and permanent, creating a lasting impact on their ability to find housing and jobs.

That’s why State Senator Lydia Edwards filed Amendment #18 to the Senate’s economic development bill. Amendment #18 will protect tenants from being unfairly marked with an eviction record and establish a fair process for tenants to petition the court on a case-by-case basis and provide that:

  • Tenants can petition to seal immediately after a case is dismissed or there is a judgment in their favor.
  • Tenants facing a no-fault eviction can seal their records after the conclusion of the case.
  • Tenants facing a non-payment eviction can seal their record within 14 days of satisfying a judgment.
  • Tenants facing a fault eviction can seal their records after 3 years.
  • Tenant screening companies cannot report and landlords cannot use a sealed court record to screen tenants.

Can you email your state senator in support of both of these measures?

One Email to Your State Rep

On July 7th, the Senate voted unanimously to pass bill S.2973, An Act to Expand Access to High-Quality, Affordable Early Education and Care. This bill is a significant step forward in transforming the child care system in MA, including more affordability for families, early educator raises, and stability for child care providers.

Join the Common Start Coalition in calling on the House to advance their version of the bill, H.4795, and to bring it to the floor for a vote by the end of the legislative session on July 31st.

Can you email your state rep about the need for action on affordable child care?