West Hartford Representative Leads Passage of Bipartisan Pay Equity Legislation

WEST HARTFORD, CT - State Rep. Derek Slap (Democrat-West Hartford, Avon, Farmington) helped this week to lead passage of HB 5591 – which strengthens Connecticut’s pay equity laws, and among things, protects workers from being penalized for taking approved parental leave.

Slap introduced the original language pertaining to protecting employees who take leave for pregnancy and other parental-related leave, according to a release. He said he is pleased the bill passed. (To sign up for West Hartford breaking news alerts and more, click here.)

“We know that closing the gender gap is good for families and good for the economy,” Slap said in a release. “On average, unfair pay costs each working woman in Connecticut more than $10,000 every year. This is a positive step forward and I will continue to work on additional measures that ensure full equality.”

Unfortunately, the provision that would remove the pay history question from the hiring process was not part of the final language. Eliminating the so-called salary anchors for women is a powerful tool to help close the gender wage gap and it was approved unanimously by the Massachusetts legislature last year and signed into law.

“I will continue to advocate for this protection for women and their families,” Slap said. “This is an issue Democrats, Republicans and the business community should be able to come together on – as they did in our neighboring state and NYC.”

The bill passed the House, 139-9, and now awaits action in the Senate.

Image via Shutterstock.