West Hartford Representative Makes Case with Daughters for Pay Equity at Public Hearing

HARTFORD, CT - Rep. Derek Slap (D-West Hartford, Avon, Farmington) had help from his young daughters in supporting passage of HB 5210 on Tuesday.

The girls provided testimony in favor of the legislation during a Labor and Public Employees Committee public hearing.

According to the Partnership for Women and Families, women in Connecticut earn 83 cents on the dollar compared to men doing comparable work. On average, that disparity costs women and their families more than $10,500 each year, according to a release.

“If we do nothing, it’s estimated that the gender wage gap won’t close for another 60 years,” Slap said in a release. “By that time my two daughters will be in their 70’s. I believe for them and all our daughters, mothers, and sisters… that’s too long to wait.”

“I am really excited to be here testifying," Maggie Slap, 12, said in a release, "because this bill is about the idea that my work isn’t worth less than the boy sitting next to me in class.”

As part of her testimony, Zoe Slap, age 10, said in a release, “There are single-moms who have to support a family and work a job and if they are paid unfairly that really impacts them and their kids.”

The bill is modeled after bipartisan legislation in Massachusetts that passed unanimously and was signed into law by Gov. Charlie Baker. Business groups and the Boston Chamber of Commerce also supported the bill.

HB 5210 does the following:

• Prohibits employers from asking job seekers how much they currently make. (Evidence shows women disproportionately carry lower salaries from one job to the next).
• Protects seniority pay differentials from adverse adjustments for time spent on leave due to pregnancy-related conditions or protected parental, family and medical leave.
• Permits an employer to have an affirmative defense in an equal pay lawsuit if it can demonstrate that, within three years prior to commencement of the lawsuit, the employer completed a good faith self-evaluation of its pay practices and can demonstrate that reasonable progress has been made towards eliminating gender-based wage differentials.

Support for HB 5210 is quickly growing. More than a dozen legislators have signed-on as co-sponsors and legislative leaders are also on board.

“Equal pay for equal work regardless of gender is not just a matter of common sense fairness, but a right that should be a matter of law,” Speaker of the House Joe Aresimowicz (D-Berlin/Southington) said in a release. “I am glad to see Rep. Slap bring more attention to this societal problem, and look forward to working with him and the Labor committee on this important issue.”

Senate President Pro Tempore Martin M. Looney (D-New Haven) said “It is long past time that Connecticut residents receive equal pay for equal work. Our country has always been committed to the idea that the United States is at its best when it has a robust and growing middle class; however, for decades, a lack of pay equity has hurt women and placed them at an economic disadvantage compared to their male coworkers. I am proud to stand with my colleagues as we seek to level the playing field.”

HB 5210 has been endorsed by the Commission on Women, Children and Seniors and the Connecticut Women’s Education Legal Fund (CWELF).

Image courtesy Richard Price.