HF 666

as introduced - 82nd Legislature (2001 - 2002) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to employment; creating equal pay commission; 
  1.3             requiring a study and report; proposing coding for new 
  1.4             law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 363. 
  1.5   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.6      Section 1.  [363.055] [EQUAL PAY STUDY COMMISSION.] 
  1.7      Subdivision 1.  [FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.] (a) The legislature 
  1.8   finds that: 
  1.9      (1) despite federal and state laws banning discrimination 
  1.10  in employment and pay, in both the private and public sector, 
  1.11  wage differentials persist between women and men, and between 
  1.12  minorities and nonminorities in the same jobs, and in jobs that 
  1.13  are dissimilar but that require equivalent composites of skill, 
  1.14  effort, responsibility, and working conditions; 
  1.15     (2) the existence of such wage differentials: 
  1.16     (i) depresses wages and living standards for employees 
  1.17  necessary for their health and efficiency; 
  1.18     (ii) reduces family income and contributes to the higher 
  1.19  poverty rates among female-headed and minority households; 
  1.20     (iii) prevents the maximum utilization of the available 
  1.21  labor resources; 
  1.22     (iv) tends to cause labor disputes, thereby burdening, 
  1.23  affecting, and obstructing commerce; and 
  1.24     (v) constitutes an unfair method of competition; 
  1.25     (3) discrimination in wage-setting practices has played a 
  2.1   role in depressing wages for women and minorities generally; 
  2.2      (4) many individuals work in occupations that are dominated 
  2.3   by individuals of the same sex, race, or national origin, and 
  2.4   discrimination in hiring, job assignment, and promotion has 
  2.5   played a role in establishing and maintaining segregated work 
  2.6   forces; 
  2.7      (5) eliminating discrimination in compensation based on 
  2.8   sex, race, and national origin would have positive effects, 
  2.9   including: 
  2.10     (i) providing a solution to problems in the economy created 
  2.11  by discriminatory wage differentials; 
  2.12     (ii) reducing the number of working women and people of 
  2.13  color earning low wages, thereby lowering the incidence of 
  2.14  poverty during normal working years and in retirement; and 
  2.15     (iii) promoting stable families by raising family incomes; 
  2.16     (6) current remedies imposed on employers who practice 
  2.17  discrimination in pay between men and women, and between 
  2.18  minorities and nonminorities, have proven to be only partially 
  2.19  effective in eliminating such wage disparities; and 
  2.20     (7) understanding the full extent and the causes of wage 
  2.21  disparities in the private and public sector, between men and 
  2.22  women, and between minorities and nonminorities, would enable 
  2.23  the state to take more effective measures to reduce disparities 
  2.24  and to eliminate discrimination in wage-setting. 
  2.25     (b) The purposes of this section are to: 
  2.26     (1) effectively correct and deter discriminatory wage 
  2.27  practices based on sex, race, or national origin; 
  2.28     (2) develop reliable data about the extent of such wage 
  2.29  discrimination; and 
  2.30     (3) provide greater understanding about its causes. 
  2.31     Subd. 2.  [EQUAL PAY COMMISSION.] (a) Within 90 days after 
  2.32  the effective date of this section, the commissioner of labor 
  2.33  and industry shall appoint a commission of nine members, to be 
  2.34  known as the "equal pay commission."  Membership on the 
  2.35  commission shall be as follows: 
  2.36     (1) two representatives of business in the state, who are 
  3.1   appointed from among individuals nominated by business 
  3.2   organizations and business trade associations; 
  3.3      (2) two representatives of labor organizations, who have 
  3.4   been nominated by state labor federations.  For purposes of this 
  3.5   clause, a state labor federation is an organization that:  (i) 
  3.6   is chartered by a federation of national or international 
  3.7   unions; (ii) admits to membership local unions; and (iii) exists 
  3.8   primarily to carry on educational, legislative, and coordinating 
  3.9   activities; 
  3.10     (3) two representatives of organizations whose objectives 
  3.11  include the elimination of pay disparities between men and women 
  3.12  or minorities and nonminorities, and who have undertaken 
  3.13  advocacy, educational, or legislative initiatives in pursuit of 
  3.14  that objective; and 
  3.15     (4) three individuals drawn from higher education or 
  3.16  research institutions who have experience and expertise in the 
  3.17  collection and analysis of data concerning such pay disparities 
  3.18  and whose research has already been used in efforts to promote 
  3.19  the elimination of those disparities. 
  3.20     (b) The commission shall make a full and complete study of: 
  3.21     (1) the extent of wage disparities, both in the public and 
  3.22  private sector, between men and women, and between minorities 
  3.23  and nonminorities; 
  3.24     (2) those factors that cause, or tend to cause, such 
  3.25  disparities, including segregation between women and men, and 
  3.26  between minorities and nonminorities across and within 
  3.27  occupations; payment of lower wages for work in female-dominated 
  3.28  occupations; child-rearing responsibilities; and education and 
  3.29  training; 
  3.30     (3) the consequences of such disparities on the economy and 
  3.31  families affected; and 
  3.32     (4) actions, including proposed legislation, that are 
  3.33  likely to lead to the elimination and prevention of such 
  3.34  disparities. 
  3.35     (c) The commission shall, no later than 12 months after its 
  3.36  members are appointed, make its report to the commissioner of 
  4.1   labor and industry, who shall transmit the report to the 
  4.2   governor. 
  4.3      (d) The commission's report shall include the results of 
  4.4   its study as well as recommendations, legislative and otherwise, 
  4.5   for the elimination and prevention of disparities in wages 
  4.6   between men and women, and between minorities and nonminorities.