| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to employment discrimination; providing a |
| 3 | short title; providing legislative findings and intent; |
| 4 | requiring the Agency for Workforce Innovation to conduct |
| 5 | studies and provide information to employers, labor |
| 6 | organizations, and the public concerning the means |
| 7 | available to eliminate pay disparities between men and |
| 8 | women; designating the Commission on Human Relations as |
| 9 | the primary enforcement agency for claims under the |
| 10 | federal Equal Pay Act; requiring the commission to adopt |
| 11 | rules and issue guidance on the federal act; creating the |
| 12 | Governor's Recognition Award for Pay Equity in the |
| 13 | Workplace; requiring that the award be made annually to |
| 14 | businesses in this state that have engaged in activities |
| 15 | that eliminate the barriers to equal pay for equal work |
| 16 | for women; requiring the director of Workforce Innovation |
| 17 | and the chairperson of the commission to work |
| 18 | cooperatively with the Executive Office of the Governor to |
| 19 | create eligibility criteria for employers to receive the |
| 20 | award; providing an effective date. |
| 21 |
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| 22 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 23 |
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| 24 | Section 1. Equal pay recognition; awards.- |
| 25 | (1) SHORT TITLE.-This section may be cited as the "Helen |
| 26 | Gordon Davis Equal Pay Protection Act." |
| 27 | (2) LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND INTENT; DUTIES OF AGENCY FOR |
| 28 | WORKFORCE INNOVATION AND COMMISSION ON HUMAN RELATIONS.- |
| 29 | (a) The Legislature finds that women have entered the |
| 30 | workforce in record numbers over the past 50 years. Yet, despite |
| 31 | the enactment of the federal Equal Pay Act in 1963, many women |
| 32 | continue to earn significantly lower salaries and pay than men |
| 33 | for equal work. These pay disparities exist in both the private |
| 34 | and governmental sectors. In many instances, the pay disparities |
| 35 | are the result of continued intentional discrimination against |
| 36 | women or the lingering effects of past discrimination against |
| 37 | women. |
| 38 | (b) The Legislature further finds that the existence of |
| 39 | such pay disparities: |
| 40 | 1. Depresses the wages of working families who rely on the |
| 41 | wages of all members of the family; |
| 42 | 2. Undermines the retirement security of women, which is |
| 43 | based on the wages that women earn while in the workforce; |
| 44 | 3. Prevents the optimum use of available labor resources; |
| 45 | 4. Continues to spread and perpetuate, through commerce |
| 46 | and the instrumentalities of commerce, among workers in all |
| 47 | states; |
| 48 | 5. Burdens commerce and the free flow of goods in |
| 49 | commerce; |
| 50 | 6. Constitutes an unfair method of competition in |
| 51 | commerce; |
| 52 | 7. Leads to labor disputes that burden and obstruct |
| 53 | commerce and the free flow of goods in commerce; |
| 54 | 8. Interferes with the orderly and fair marketing of goods |
| 55 | in commerce; and |
| 56 | 9. Deprives female workers of equal protection on the |
| 57 | basis of gender in violation of the Fifth and the Fourteenth |
| 58 | Amendments to the United States Constitution. |
| 59 | (c)1. The Legislature further finds that artificial |
| 60 | barriers to the payment of equal wages continue to exist decades |
| 61 | after the enactment of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, s. |
| 62 | 29 U.S.C. 201 et seq., and the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 |
| 63 | U.S.C. s. 2000a. These barriers have resulted, in large part, |
| 64 | because the federal Equal Pay Act of 1963 has not worked as |
| 65 | Congress originally intended. Improvements and modifications to |
| 66 | the law are necessary to ensure that the act provides effective |
| 67 | protection to those subject to pay discrimination on the basis |
| 68 | of their gender. |
| 69 | 2. The Legislature finds that eliminating such artificial |
| 70 | barriers would have positive effects, including: |
| 71 | a. Providing a solution to problems in the economy created |
| 72 | by unfair pay disparities; |
| 73 | b. Substantially reducing the number of working women |
| 74 | earning unfairly low wages, thereby reducing the dependence on |
| 75 | public assistance; |
| 76 | c. Promoting stable families by enabling all family |
| 77 | members to earn a fair rate of pay; |
| 78 | d. Remedying the effects of past discrimination on the |
| 79 | basis of gender and ensuring that female workers are afforded |
| 80 | equal protection in the future; and |
| 81 | e. Ensuring equal protection under s. 2, Article I of the |
| 82 | State Constitution. |
| 83 | (d)1. The Legislature finds that the Agency for Workforce |
| 84 | Innovation and the Commission on Human Relations have important |
| 85 | and unique responsibilities to help ensure that women receive |
| 86 | equal pay for equal work. |
| 87 | 2. The Agency for Workforce Innovation shall: |
| 88 | a. Collect and make information about women's pay |
| 89 | available to the public; |
| 90 | b. Ensure that companies receiving state contracts comply |
| 91 | with the antidiscrimination and affirmative action requirements |
| 92 | of this state relating to equal employment opportunity; |
| 93 | c. Disseminate information about women's rights in the |
| 94 | workplace; |
| 95 | d. Help women who are victims of pay discrimination obtain |
| 96 | a remedy; and |
| 97 | e. Be proactive in investigating and prosecuting |
| 98 | violations of laws requiring equal pay, especially systemic |
| 99 | violations, and in enforcing all mandates of those laws. |
| 100 | 3. The Commission on Human Relations is the primary |
| 101 | enforcement agency for claims made under the federal Equal Pay |
| 102 | Act. The commission shall adopt rules and issue guidance on |
| 103 | appropriate interpretations of the federal act. |
| 104 | 4. As a result of a stronger commitment by the Agency for |
| 105 | Workforce Innovation and the Commission on Human Relations to |
| 106 | their responsibilities, more effective remedies, and increased |
| 107 | information about the provisions added to the federal Equal Pay |
| 108 | Act, this section, and wage data, women will be better able to |
| 109 | recognize and enforce their rights. |
| 110 | (e) The Legislature recognizes that certain employers have |
| 111 | already made great strides in eradicating unfair pay disparities |
| 112 | in the workplace and their achievements should be recognized. |
| 113 | (3) RESEARCH, EDUCATION, AND OUTREACH.-The director of |
| 114 | Workforce Innovation shall conduct studies and provide |
| 115 | information to employers, labor organizations, and the public |
| 116 | concerning the means that are available to eliminate pay |
| 117 | disparities between men and women. These efforts shall include: |
| 118 | (a) Conducting and promoting research to develop the means |
| 119 | to expeditiously correct the conditions leading to pay |
| 120 | disparities; |
| 121 | (b) Publishing and otherwise making available to |
| 122 | employers, labor organizations, professional associations, |
| 123 | educational institutions, the media, and the public findings |
| 124 | resulting from studies and other materials relating to |
| 125 | eliminating pay disparities; |
| 126 | (c) Sponsoring and assisting state and community |
| 127 | informational and educational programs; |
| 128 | (d) Providing information to employers, labor |
| 129 | organizations, professional associations, and other interested |
| 130 | persons on the means of eliminating pay disparities; and |
| 131 | (e) Recognizing and promoting the achievements of |
| 132 | employers, labor organizations, and professional associations |
| 133 | that have worked to eliminate pay disparities. |
| 134 | (4) THE GOVERNOR'S RECOGNITION AWARD FOR PAY EQUITY IN THE |
| 135 | WORKPLACE.- |
| 136 | (a) There is created the Governor's Recognition Award for |
| 137 | Pay Equity in the Workplace, which shall be awarded annually to |
| 138 | businesses in this state that have engaged in activities that |
| 139 | eliminate the barriers to equal pay for equal work. The ceremony |
| 140 | to recognize the employers shall be organized in such a way so |
| 141 | as to encourage proactive efforts by other employers to equalize |
| 142 | pay between men and women performing the same work. |
| 143 | (b) The director of Workforce Innovation and the |
| 144 | chairperson of the Commission on Human Relations, in cooperation |
| 145 | with the Executive Office of the Governor, shall establish |
| 146 | criteria for employers to be eligible to receive the award. The |
| 147 | criteria shall include a requirement that an employer must have |
| 148 | made substantial efforts to eliminate pay disparities between |
| 149 | men and women and deserves special recognition as a consequence |
| 150 | of such efforts. The director shall establish procedures for |
| 151 | applications, regional ceremonies, and presentations of the |
| 152 | award. |
| 153 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2010. |