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Scott places rush order on equal pay, but law still would take effect July 1

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By , VTDigger.org

Gov. Phil Scott has told the leaders of both the Vermont House and Senate that he wants the Legislature to act quickly to pass equal pay bills, so he can sign them into law before Town Meeting Day on March 6.

In a letter sent to Speaker of the House Mitzi Johnson and Senate President Pro Tem Tim Ashe, and released to the media, on Monday, Scott urged them to pass the bills that would “close the gap between what women and men are paid, among other provisions to increase pay equity.”

“As you’ve acknowledged, Vermont needs to restore its workforce to grow the economy and sustain – and increase – public investments we all value,” the governor’s letter said.

“Closing the wage gap could reduce Vermont’s poverty rate by 57 percent and add $1 billion to our state’s economy. More importantly, it would help us get one step closer to providing equality for all.”

The letter referred to two bills before legislators, S.275, which relates to equal pay, and H.294, which prohibits employers from asking prospective employees and job applicants to disclose salaries and benefits from previous jobs.

The House passed its bill on Tuesday.

Sen. Alison Clarkson, D-Windsor, sponsor of the Senate bill, said the Senate likely would take up the legislation only after the so-called crossover date, which falls after Town Meeting Day.

Scott pointed out in his letter that women working full time, year-round in Vermont are paid 84 cents to every dollar earned by men in comparable jobs. And women out of college earn about $3 per hour less than men with the same level of education.

Of the 20,000 households in Vermont that have women as the primary breadwinner, 23 percent have income that is below the poverty line.

Scott’s support for pay parity legislation contrasts with his relative lack of enthusiasm for another bill seen as important to Vermont working women — family leave. When family leave legislation was introduced in last year’s legislative session, Scott’s response was that any family leave law requiring a tax increase would be met with a veto.

The House last week passed H.196, offering universal six-week paid family leave, which would be funded by a .14 percent payroll tax.

Asked about the family leave bill recently passed by the House, Scott’s spokesperson Rebecca Kelley said the governor would support a paid leave program only if it were voluntary — employees wanting the option of family leave would have to set aside a portion of their own pay to fund it.

Kelley said the governor’s goal in writing directly to legislative leaders was to establish early action on the bipartisan promise to work towards closing the pay gap. However, whether the bill becomes law by Town Meeting Day, or toward the end of the session, it would go into effect on the same date, July 1.

“Advancing our work to ensure equal pay for equal work is an [opportunity] for us to come together on a bipartisan basis and make meaningful change,” Scott wrote.

The Senate version of the bill, S.275, also would amend the Vermont Fair Employment Practices Act to extend protected status to minority race and sexual orientation in addition to banning salary transparency.

Matt Birong, owner of 3-squares café in Vergennes, who testified in favor of the pay parity bills, said it is common for employers to use previous salary pay as an indicator of how much someone should be paid, instead of making the salary based on the job or the candidate.

As for the gender pay gap, he said, it starts small, but “it increases over the course of their careers, the biggest gaps being towards the end, this is from compounded pay inequality.”

The fact that the conversation is continuing shows how truly deeply inequality is embedded, he said.

“I can’t believe we’re still having this conversation,” Birong said.

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