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United States Senate

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OFFERED
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January 20, 2015
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Senate Bill No. 2507
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8Principal Author: Julia Scharf
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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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Pay Gap Elimination Act
13PURPOSE SECTION
14 FOR the purpose of instituting a system that regulates fair pay between
15both male and female workers, therefore decreasing the pay gap between
16the two genders.
17PREAMBLE
18WHEREAS, as of 2010, 58.6 percent of women over the age of 16 were contributors to
19the American workforce ;and,
20WHEREAS women account for 47 percent of the American workforce ;and,
21WHEREAS nowadays Caucasian women on average earn about 80 cents for every dollar
22a man makes ;and,
23WHEREAS African American women earn about 68 cents for every dollar a man makes,
24and Latina women earn about 60 cents;
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26THEREFORE BE IT ENACTED BY THE CONGRESS of THE UNITED STATES OF
27AMERICA that all employees of American public businesses have the right to compare
28salaries with other employees who obtain subsequent occupations within the same
29business establishment.
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31Section 1 - ENACTMENT CLAUSE
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In order to oversee that the pay gap between men and women diminishes, the US

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Department of Labor will institute a separate branch, the Equal Pay Agency

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(EPA). The EPA headquarters will be located in the District of Columbia, but will

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agencies distributed across the country in all major cities.

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37 ii.

The EPA will establish a system that is instituted into all public businesses in the

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nation that calls for one staff meeting a month where the staff members, of both

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genders, can compare salaries with other employees working subsequent jobs. All

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staff is required to attend the conferences, and any discrepancies in the

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employees salaries will be reported to the EPA that day.

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43 iii.

These gatherings are to be facilitated by the employer, and no other. All

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employees are to discuss the wages they received since the last meeting, to avoid

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any unfair pay during the weeks that there was no company wide convention.

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Workers will be required to bring in their formal paychecks so that there is no

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false information or confusion regarding payment. The monthly meetings will be

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at least half an hour long with a minimum of twenty minutes for employees to

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discuss may amongst themselves. If there is an apparent unjust between the wages

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to two workers, the employer has the chance to explain himself/herself. However,

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if the explanation stands weak and irrelevant, the staff has the right to contact the

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EPA instantaneously.

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54 iv.

In order to insure that their will be participants in these meetings, the EPA will

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supply the companies with the money they need to pay their employees as if the

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meetings were work hours. The amount paid to employers will be decided by the

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EPA.

58Section 2 - ENFORCEMENT

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i. All individual Equal Pay Agencies located around the nation will be responsible

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for enforcing Pay Gap Elimination Act in the area around their establishment up

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to where another agency takes over. This means that an EPA will monitor every

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square mile of the United States.

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ii. The EPA will be a branch of the US Labor Department; therefore that

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government department will cover all expenses. The expenses will consist of the

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construction of the agency buildings, the landlines and computers that will be

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located in all the buildings, and the US Labor Department will cover the cost of

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training new employees for the agency. They will also provide the EPA with the

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money that the EPA needs to supply all companies with money for their

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employees for attending the meetings. The EPAs website will also include a spot

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for people to make donations to the organization.

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iii. Business employers, when found guilty of committing unfair pay within their

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corporation will face a fine ranging between $1,000 and $10,000. The size of the

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punishment will be determined by the magnitude of the discrepancy in payment,

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as well as how many employers were being paid unfairly. The employer will be

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continuously fined until able to provide proof that the employees pay has been

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made equivalent to that of the other employees. The fines following the primary

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fine will be the same amount as the original and will occur every two weeks that

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the evidence is not provided. %5 of all fines will be given to the EPA to cover

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extra expenses.

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83Section 3 - CLOSING SECTION
84This bill will take effect on April 3rd, 2015, 50 days after passage.
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86SECTION 4. All laws in conflict with this legislation are hereby declared null and void.
87Introduced by Julia Scharf.
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