‘Equal pay’ proposal creates pathway for political payback
CARSON CITY — A proposal aimed at ensuring men and women receive equal pay isn’t just unnecessary. It creates a pathway to punish political opponents.
It’s a matter of faith among leftists that women earn around 78 cents for every dollar men make for the same work. The statistic glosses over numerous variables. On average, men work more hours than women. Men disproportionately choose to study subjects that lead to high-paying careers, like engineering, while women lean toward subjects, like theater, that pay less. Many women choose to prioritize motherhood and family over “winning” the rat race. A paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research concluded, “There is no gender gap in wages among men and women with similar family roles.”
Nonetheless, Assemblywoman Ellen Spiegel, D-Henderson, has introduced AB106, one of many bills we’ll see this session on the topic of “equal pay.” It requires businesses to receive a “certificate of pay equity compliance” from Nevada’s labor commissioner before a business can receive a government contract.
It’s already illegal under federal law to pay women less than men for identical work. Remember that the next time someone asserts that almost every business in America systemically underpays women.
To obtain this certificate, a business must yearly submit mountains of paperwork, including an affidavit, equal pay policies and procedures and an analysis breaking employees down by sex, job type, compensation and hours. Just what our economy needs: more busywork and red tape.
The labor commissioner then determines if an employer provides “equal pay for equal work.” This is a fundamentally subjective decision, because as the bill acknowledges and exempts, pay for male and female employees may differ as a result of seniority, merit, productivity and factors other than sex. The decision to issue or revoke a certificate is up to the labor commissioner alone. The bill even prohibits judicial review.
So connect the dots. The governor appoints the director of the Department of Business and Industry, who appoints the labor commissioner. The governor goes to a business that does business with the state for a campaign contribution. Or a business is considering donating to the governor’s political opponents.
“Sure would be a shame if the labor commissioner found your business didn’t provide equal pay for its employees …”
Those words would never need to be said. Lobbyists are smart enough to connect the dots.
Contact Victor Joecks at vjoecks@reviewjournal.com. Follow @victorjoecks on Twitter.
