Kamala Harris announced an equal pay plan that is historic because it would force corporations to be accountable for equal pay.
Kamala Harris’s Equal Pay Plan Forces Corporate Accountability
In a statement provided to PoliticusUSA, the Harris campaign described the plan:
Harris’ plan will require large corporations to obtain an “Equal Pay Certification” from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), and companies that fail to receive this certification will face a fine for every day they discriminate against their workers: for every one percent wage gap they allow to persist for work of equal value, they will be fined one percent of their profits. Corporations will be required to disclose whether they are “Equal Pay Certified” on the homepage of their websites. Fines on corporations that fail to receive certification will help fund paid family and medical leave, since the lack of paid leave is a major driver of the wage gap. A similar law was recently enacted in Iceland.
If Congress refuses to act on equal pay, Harris will take executive action to apply these standards to federal contractors. She will require companies to obtain “Equal Pay Certification” within two years of her term in order to receive large federal contracts, which would affect up to 28 million workers. If they fail to receive certification, they will be barred from competing for federal contracts valued at more than $500,000.
Equal Pay Isn’t A Women’s Issue. It’s An American issue
As President Obama was fond of saying, equal pay is an American issue, not a women’s issue. The pay gap impacts families and children from coast to coast. The pay gap is a driver of economic inequality.
During an interview on CNN, Sen. Harris talked about why the equal pay burden should not be on women:
KAMALA tells @CNN that her equal pay plan puts burden on companies, not workers. An important shift.
“It should not be on a working woman to prove it. It should instead be on that large corporation to prove they’re paying people for equal work equally.”pic.twitter.com/VYYsM9bE93
— Ian Sams (@IanSams) May 20, 2019
If we as a nation want to level the playing field and strike a blow against growing economic inequality, making corporations accountable for the pay gap is an important first step. Sen. Harris should be applauded for such a forward-thinking vision for our nation.
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Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
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