Bucks County Lawmaker Hopes To Tackle Gender Pay Gap In PA
WARRINGTON, Pa. (CBS) - Massachusetts has a new law barring employers from gender discrimination when it comes to paychecks.
A Bucks County lawmaker who has been a pay equity champion for years says it's time for similar legislation in Pennsylvania.
Republican state Rep. Kathy Watson, who has been unsuccessful in convincing her legislative colleagues in the Senate to vote on a resolution she sponsored studying the issue, says what Massachusetts has done sounds like a great fit for Pennsylvania:
"That's what real pay equity is. That it's based on this job is worth X-amount of dollars and you have to have this, this, and this in your qualifications. And, regardless if you are male or female, that's what the job pays."
Watson says her House colleagues overwhelmingly approved her idea to study pay equity.
She says she especially likes the inclusion in the Massachusetts law of a ban on employers asking job candidates about their salary history in the screening process for a job interview.
The Massachusetts law goes into effect in July 2018.