Monday, July 29, 2013
Governor Perry Vetoes Equal Pay Bill
A little over a month ago on June 14th, Texas Governor, Rick Perry, vetoed a bill that aimed to further prevent wage discrimination against women. Averages estimate that women in Texas currently make 82 cents of every dollar paid to men. In his veto statement, Perry objected to the bill suggesting it could hurt job creation and then claiming that it "duplicates federal law, which already allows employees who feel they have been discriminated against through compensation to file a claim with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission." Texas would have been the 43rd state to adopt such a law.
Governor Perry believes that the Texas Equal Pay Act was a duplication of the federal Lily Ledbetter Act. However, supporters of the new legislation explained why the bill was not only supplementary but necessary to strengthen the federal law and women's abilities to seek legal action. The state bill would have given consistency to state and federal laws in order to strengthen the effectiveness and clarity of anti-discrimination laws relating to employment. It also would have allowed women to proceed in nearby state courts rather than a federal court. Not only is this a possible financial benefit if the federal courts are far away, it also would have been more convenient for those with familial responsibilities. Finally, this state legislation would have extended the time for gender-based pay discrimination suits to 180 days after discriminatory compensation.
By vetoing the Equal Pay Act for the state of Texas, Governor Rick Perry not only showed an ignorance of the additional measures outlined in the legislation, he also showed a lack of concern for one of the issues most important to those women employed in his state. Passing this bill was not just about strengthening pre-existing laws, it was also about taking a firm stand against sex-based pay discrimination in an attempt to prevent further injustice. Regardless, the continuation of this problem is unacceptable and if this bill was just a reiteration of currently enforced legislation, I'd like to see some major efforts in seeking an alternate solution from our Governor.
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In Texas Government Online Journal blog post called Governor Perry Vetoes Equal Pay Bill, it discusses the Equal Pay Bill and the reason why Governor Perry turn down the bill. The blog post is very organized. In the beginning of the blog post it goes by stating what the bill is, why would the bill important and what has happened to the bill. It flows from each paragraph and provides a good explanation for those who weren’t following the news or are new to the Equal Pay Bill’s existence. The blog’s author, CKernam’s opinion of what Governor Perry veto caused and what the Equal Pay Bill would have been important in the workplace. It shows that women have a firm and justified argument to have equal pay to their male coworkers by blog post. Overall, my personal opinion of this blog post is really good. I agree that women should have equal pay and with another bill it would have supported previous equal pay legislatures.
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