2 New Jersey Lawmakers Voted Against 'Equal Pay' Bill

A proposed state law aimed at guaranteeing "equal pay" between men and women in the workplace passed the New Jersey Assembly 74-2 on Monday. The only dissenting votes came from two male Republicans: Jay Webber (District 26) and Michael Patrick Carroll (District 25).

The bill, S-104 – also dubbed the “Diane B. Allen Equal Pay Act” – would modify current legislation, including the Law Against Discrimination. Under the proposed law, it would be illegal for an employer to pay a worker less than another employee who does a “substantially similar” job. The law would apply to minority workers, as well as those of different genders.

Employers would also be banned from taking action against their workers for discussing information about their job titles, occupational categories or rates of compensation.

However, the bill allows an employer to pay a different rate of compensation to workers if they can show that it’s a result of a “seniority or merit system,” or if it’s based on “legitimate, bonafide” factors such as “training, education, experience, or the quantity or quality of production.”

Read the full text of the bill here.

In addition to the Assembly’s thumbs-up, the bill passed unanimously in the state Senate and will now head to Gov. Phil Murphy’s desk for final approval.

Murphy has shown signs he would be favorable to such a proposed law, signing an executive order aimed at “Promoting Equal Pay And Gender Equity” shortly after taking office.

• See related article: Phil Murphy Sworn In As Governor, Blasts Trump's 'Assault' On NJ

Mikie Sherrill, one of the main contenders for soon-to-retire U.S. Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen’s seat in the 11th Congressional District, had harsh words for Webber, one of her opponents in the 2018 election.

“In 2018 it is hard to believe that any legislator would vote against ensuring women get equal pay for equal work,” Sherrill said after Monday’s vote. “I am deeply disappointed that Assemblyman Jay Webber chose to vote, yet again, against legislation that would give the women of New Jersey a well-deserved raise. As one of just two members to vote against this bill, he is out of step with the people of New Jersey and not the type of leader we want in Trenton or deserve in Washington.”

According to Sherrill, New Jersey women make just 80 cents for every dollar their male counterparts make. The pay gap is even worse for minority women at 58 cents to every dollar for African-Americans and 43 cents to every dollar for Latinas.

But Webber fired back at Sherrill on Tuesday, calling her statement a “false attack.”

“Mikie's a lawyer who knows that equal pay for equal work is already the law in New Jersey, as it should be,” Webber told Patch. “Mikie's also a Nancy Pelosi pawn, so of course she's going to champion a giveaway to plaintiffs' lawyers – even to the point of going far to the left even of where Barack Obama was on this issue.”

Webber continued:

“Yesterday’s bill is unlike any other in the country and will lead to more junk lawsuits by increasing penalties available to plaintiffs in those suits nine times over. Jackpot jury verdicts caused by this bill will destroy jobs, lower wages, and close small businesses for women across the State. It’s hard enough to run a business in New Jersey, and it’s about to get even harder, no thanks to Mikie.”

Webber said that he’s the grandson of two working grandmothers, the son of a working mother, the husband of a Harvard-trained lawyer and the proud father of four beautiful daughters.

“I’ve also actually created private sector jobs for women in New Jersey, instead of just talking about it,” Webber said. “So our campaign won’t be lectured about caring for women in the workforce – in fact, we welcome the debate. On the so-called ‘equal pay’ bill, voting ‘no’ was the right decision.”

Carroll told Patch that he voted against the bill because nobody - including its sponsors - could answer a simple question: What does it do?

"I have no clue what this bill requires and neither does anybody else," he said, criticizing the bill's vagueness and the potential for resulting lawsuits.

"What they're trying to do is achieve a group-based remedy... regardless of the individual choices that each of us makes in our lives," Carroll said.

Carroll posted the below statement on his Facebook page on Monday:

“Ya know, I MEANT to say ‘a sex,’ because that's what the bill defines as a ‘protected class’: people who have ‘a sex.’ Freudian, I guess. When I asked the sponsor to identify someone who was NOT a protected class, she snapped back, ‘YOU!!’ Which, as it happens, is accurate. This bill is NOT about equal pay; that's been the law since 1963. I defy anyone to tell me what constitutes ‘substantially similar work.’ I asked that question of the sponsor; unsurprisingly, I got no response.”

Carroll added:

“What troubles me most, I guess, is the depths to which leftist politics has sunk. Not one speaker honestly described the bill: not one. When a political philosophy becomes complete dependent on lies or obfuscation, that's dangerous.”

• See related article: Chris Christie Vetoes Gender Discrimination Law
• See related article: NJ Woman Gets $35K In Gender-Discrimination Lawsuit Against Hotel

JAY WEBBER

According to Webber’s website:

“Jay Webber serves in the New Jersey General Assembly representing the residents of the Garden State’s 26th Legislative District and has been called ‘the conservative conscience of the State Legislature.’ He serves on the Assembly’s Labor and State and Local Government Committees… For his legislative service, Assemblyman Webber has earned the Taxpayer Hero Award from Americans for Prosperity-NJ; the Outstanding Legislator of the Year Award from the NJ Society for Environmental Economic Development; and the Defender of the Family Legislative Award from the NJ Family Policy Council.”

He represents residents of the state’s 26th district, which includes the following towns in Essex, Morris and Passaic counties: Butler, Fairfield (Essex), Jefferson, Kinnelon, Lincoln Park, Montville, Morris Plains, North Caldwell, Parsippany-Troy Hills, Rockaway Township, Verona, West Caldwell and West Milford.

MICHAEL PATRICK CARROLL

According to Carroll’s website, he was once hailed by New Jersey Monthly as “New Jersey’s Most Conservative Legislator.”

In 2016, Carroll sponsored a bill that would have legalized recreational marijuana and made it possible for New Jersey retailers to sell cannabis products similar to tobacco products, including at local convenience stores.

• See related article: N.J. Marijuana Legalization Bill Would Treat Weed Like Tobacco

Carroll previously introduced a bill that would have lowered the state's legal drinking age to 18.

• See related article: Should N.J. Lower The Drinking Age To 18?

He’s also been an advocate of the Gateway Tunnel project, which would build a train tube under the Hudson River in an effort to alleviate a notorious bottleneck on the Northeast Corridor. (See below video)

Carroll represents the following towns in Morris and Somerset counties: Bernardsville, Boonton, Boonton Township, Chester Borough, Chester Township, Denville, Dover, Mendham Borough, Mendham Township, Mine Hill, Morris, Morristown, Mount Arlington, Mountain Lakes, Netcong, Randolph, Rockaway Borough, Roxbury, Victory Gardens, Washington (Morris) and Wharton.

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