Coalition pushing for equal pay law to be considered by Mississippi legislature in upcoming session
JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) - There’s a growing chorus of organizations putting pressure on the legislature to put an equal pay law on the books in Mississippi. It is the only state in the country without an equal pay law.
“We’re at a place to where we are seeing some momentum, and we are having conversations early across the aisle about what needs to be an equal pay law,” explained Cassandra Welchlin, Executive Director of the Mississippi Black Women’s Roundtable. “Because we don’t want just any equal pay bill; we want to build what really has four components to it. That we know we’ll make sure that workers are protected, their paychecks are protected.”
The Mississippi Women’s Economic Security Initiative Coalitions wants to see more than just the baseline in a bill. They want to prevent employers from requesting a salary history and protect employees who discuss their pay from retaliation.
They’re also calling attention to the need to include language about not just gender but also race.
“Black women are making 56 cents on the dollar,” explained Welchlin. “And white women are making 75 cents on the dollar.”
Read more: https://www.wlbt.com/2021/12/23/coalition-pushing-equal-pay-law-be-considered-by-mississippi-legislature-upcoming-session/
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