Tuesday, April 24,2018, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy will sign the strongest state pay equity bill in the country. This bill was first introduced by women legislative leaders in 2013, but was vetoed by then-Governor Chris Christie.
According to Deb Huber, President of the National Organization for Women of New Jersey (NOW-NJ),
“At a time when women’s rights are under attack in most of our country, New Jersey has become an exciting exception. The state’s new Governor, Phil Murphy, highlighted women’s rights in his campaign, and the first bill that he signed was to restore funding for women’s healthcare facilities, including Planned Parenthood.“
Huber continues, “This pay equity bill has many provisions which set a new high bar for state laws to ban discrimination in the workplace. It provides triple damages for up to six years of under-compensation. It defines the criteria for what constitutes substantially similar work. It allows employees to discuss their compensation with others. And it collects the data needed to detect and force correction of discrimination against protected classes of employees who work on state contracts. This is a great bill, and we thank all who worked to make it possible.”
Toni Van Pelt, President of NOW, states, “NOW is working to pass meaningful pay equity legislation in Congress and in the states. This November, voters will want to know which candidate is for paying them less and which elected officials don’t think pay equity is a problem. NOW is proud to have activist leaders like Deb Huber to count on! Congratulations New Jersey NOW!”