Senate Bill sb0310
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Florida Senate - 2002 SB 310
By Senator Dawson
30-262-02
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to wage discrimination;
3 creating the "Equal Pay Commission Act";
4 providing for the Secretary of Labor and
5 Employment Security to appoint the Equal Pay
6 Commission; providing membership criteria;
7 requiring the commission to conduct a study;
8 specifying the subject of the study; providing
9 an effective date.
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11 WHEREAS, despite federal and state laws banning
12 discrimination in employment and pay in both the public and
13 private sectors, wage differentials persist between women and
14 men and between minorities and nonminorities in the same jobs
15 and in jobs that are dissimilar but that require equivalent
16 composites of skill, effort, responsibility, and working
17 conditions, and
18 WHEREAS, the existence of such wage differentials
19 depresses wages and living standards for employees, thereby
20 compromising their health and efficiency, reduces family
21 incomes and contributes to higher poverty rates among
22 households headed by females and minority households, prevents
23 the maximum utilization of available labor resources, and
24 tends to cause labor disputes, thereby burdening and
25 obstructing commerce, and
26 WHEREAS, the Florida Civil Rights Act of 1992, sections
27 760.01-760.11, Florida Statutes, states that it is an unlawful
28 employment practice for an employer "to discriminate against
29 any individual with respect to compensation, terms,
30 conditions, or privileges of employment because of such
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Florida Senate - 2002 SB 310
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1 individual's race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age,
2 handicap, or marital status," and
3 WHEREAS, discrimination in wage-setting practices has
4 played a role in depressing wages for women and minorities
5 generally, and
6 WHEREAS, many individuals work in occupations that are
7 dominated by individuals of their own sex, race, or national
8 origin, and discrimination in hiring, job assignments, and
9 promotion has played a role in establishing and maintaining
10 segregated work forces, and
11 WHEREAS, eliminating discrimination in compensation
12 based on sex, race, and national origin would have positive
13 effects, including providing a solution to problems in the
14 economy created by discriminatory wage differentials, reducing
15 the number of working women and people of color earning low
16 wages, thereby lowering their incidence of poverty during
17 normal working years and in retirement, and promoting stable
18 families by raising family incomes, and
19 WHEREAS, it is the purpose of this act to correct and
20 as rapidly as practicable eliminate discriminatory wage
21 practices based on sex, race, color, religion, national
22 origin, age, handicap, or marital status, NOW, THEREFORE,
23
24 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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26 Section 1. Equal Pay Commission Act; commission
27 membership, duties.--
28 (1) This section may be cited as the "Equal Pay
29 Commission Act."
30 (2) Within 90 days after the effective date of this
31 section, the Secretary of Labor and Employment Security shall
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Florida Senate - 2002 SB 310
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1 appoint a commission consisting of nine members, to be known
2 as the Equal Pay Commission.
3 (3) Membership on the commission shall include:
4 (a) Two representatives of business in this state who
5 are appointed from among individuals nominated by state
6 business organizations and business trade associations;
7 (b) Two representatives of labor organizations who
8 have been nominated by state labor federations. As used in
9 this paragraph, the term "state labor federation" means an
10 organization that:
11 1. Is chartered by a federation of national or
12 international unions;
13 2. Admits to membership local unions; and
14 3. Exists primarily to carry on educational,
15 legislative, and coordinating activities;
16 (c) Two representatives of organizations the
17 objectives of which include the elimination of pay disparities
18 between men and women or between minorities and nonminorities,
19 and who have undertaken advocacy, educational, or legislative
20 initiatives in pursuit of such objective; and
21 (d) Three individuals drawn from higher education or
22 research institutions who have experience and expertise in the
23 collection and analysis of data concerning such pay
24 disparities and whose research has already been used in
25 efforts to promote the elimination of those disparities.
26 (4) The commission shall make a full and complete
27 study of:
28 (a) The extent of wage disparities, in both the public
29 and private sectors, between men and women and between
30 minorities and nonminorities;
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Florida Senate - 2002 SB 310
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1 (b) Those factors that cause or tend to cause such
2 disparities, including segregation between women and men and
3 between minorities and nonminorities across and within
4 occupations, payment of lower wages for work in
5 female-dominated occupations, child-rearing responsibilities,
6 and education and training;
7 (c) The consequences of such disparities on the
8 economy and on affected families; and
9 (d) Actions, including proposed legislation, which are
10 likely to lead to the elimination and prevention of such
11 disparities.
12 Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a
13 law.
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16 SENATE SUMMARY
17 Creates the "Equal Pay Commission Act." Provides for the
Secretary of Labor and Employment Security to appoint the
18 Equal Pay Commission. Provides membership criteria.
Requires the commission to conduct a study and specifies
19 the subject of the study.
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