As reported by the San Jose Mercury News:
A pay equity bill expected to pass the California Assembly this afternoon would strengthen existing laws and “close that insidious wage gap” between men and women, a bipartisan group of women legislators said Monday.
If passed and signed by Gov. Jerry Brown, it would be the toughest equal pay law in the country and become what supporters hope will be a model for the rest of the country, said state Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson, D-Santa Barbara, chair of the California Legislative Women’s Caucus and author of SB358, the California Fair Pay Act.
The bill, supported by Republicans as well as the Chamber of Commerce, ensures that women are paid equally for work that is substantially similar to the work of their male colleagues. It also requires that women do not face retaliation if they discuss or ask how much their male colleagues are paid. …
