• A bill by Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara), which would close the wage gap that women face at work, cleared its final hurdle in the Legislature on Aug. 31, passing off the Senate floor on a bipartisan, 39-0 vote. The bill now heads to Gov. Jerry Brown’s desk just a few days after his office took the unusual step of announcing the Governor’s support for the bill on Twitter. The bill, Jackson’s Senate Bill 358, the California Fair Pay Act, would ensure that women are paid equally for work that is substantially similar to the work of their male colleagues, and don’t face retaliation if they discuss or ask how much their male colleagues are paid. When signed into law, it would be the strongest equal pay law in the nation. At a press conference recently, Jackson was joined by Democratic and Republican members of the California Legislative Women’s Caucus, as well as equal rights advocates and the California Chamber of Commerce in urging support for the bill. “This is a momentous day for California, and it is long overdue. I’m very pleased to see this bill clear its final hurdle in the Legislature and head to the governor’s desk. Equal pay isn’t just the right thing for women, it’s the right thing for our economy and for California,” Jackson said in a statement.
This article appears in Sep 3-10, 2015.