MISSISSIPPI, USA — March 15 is Equal Pay Day for Women's History Month. This date symbolizes how far into the year women have to work in order to earn what men earned last year.
The non-profit, Mississippi Black Women's Roundtable has been pushing for changes for more than five years now.
They have also been holding leaders accountable by insisting that HB770 and SB2451 be amended to protect women more.
"We are the last state without an equal pay law," Director Cassandra Welchlin stated.
This means women are losing out on a significant amount of money over the course of a year and throughout their careers.
Welchlin said with Mississippi being one of the top states with the highest poverty rate in the country, there is still a lot of work to be done.
"Also among child poverty, women are the breadwinners and the cold breadwinners of their families, Welchlin said. "We're losing $4.15 billion from the state economy because women aren't getting paid what they need to get paid."
It is why the group has been pushing for equal pay and more.
"We need a good equal pay bill that includes race and gender, that protects against retaliation, that has provisions in there for transparency and that will allow employees to receive all of their damages," Welchlin explained.
There are two bills the group wants leaders to make changes to before the last legislative session later this month.
The first is House Bill 770, which states:
"AN ACT TO CREATE THE MISSISSIPPI EQUAL PAY ACT; TO PROVIDE DEFINITIONS FOR "EMPLOYEE", "EMPLOYER", "WAGE", "RATE", AND "UNPAID WAGES"; TO PROVIDE THAT NO EMPLOYER SHALL PAY AN EMPLOYEE A WAGE AT A RATE LESS THAN THE RATE AT WHICH AN EMPLOYEE OF THE OPPOSITE SEX IN THE SAME ESTABLISHMENT IS PAID FOR EQUAL WORK ON A JOB, THE PERFORMANCE OF WHICH REQUIRES EQUAL SKILL, EFFORT AND RESPONSIBILITY, AND WHICH IS PERFORMED UNDER SIMILAR WORKING CONDITIONS; TO PROVIDE REMEDIES; TO PROVIDE THE TIME IN WHICH A CIVIL ACTION MUST BE FILED; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES."
Welchlin said it is concerning because the wording still leaves the door open for employers to decide how much women should get paid.
"It expressly allows an employer to discriminate and to pay them less based on salary history by using salary history as a way to discriminate," Welchlin stated. "And we know that when you base a woman's job …previously, it's already inequitable."
There is also Senate Bill 2451 which states:
"AN ACT TO ENACT THE MISSISSIPPI EQUAL PAY ACT; TO PROHIBIT AN EMPLOYER FROM PAYING ANY OF ITS EMPLOYEES AT WAGE RATES LESS THAN THOSE PAID TO EMPLOYEES OF ANOTHER SEX FOR EQUAL WORK UNLESS A WAGE DIFFERENTIAL IS BASED UPON ONE OR MORE SPECIFIED FACTORS; TO PROVIDE A CAUSE OF ACTION AGAINST EMPLOYERS WHO VIOLATE THIS ACT; TO PROVIDE THAT EMPLOYEES WHO RECOVER UNDER THIS ACT AND ALSO RECOVER UNDER A FEDERAL CAUSE OF ACTION FOR THE SAME EMPLOYER CONDUCT SHALL RETURN THE SMALLER OF THE TWO AWARDS TO THE EMPLOYER; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES."
Welchlin said all of the extra steps could be a bit much.
"Mississippi is a notice pleading state, which means you give notice that you're about to file, but under this law, you have to plead with certain particularities, you have to present your facts, you have to have all the data of how you've gotten discriminated against. Who got paid on your job more than you."
Welchlin said if leaders do not make changes to the two bills it could do more harm, especially to essential workers who have to work multiple jobs.
"It benefits the entire state and so we need Mississippi lawmakers to amend the bills or kill the bills, and we come back next year and get a good equal pay bill for women in the state of Mississippi."
Welchlin has also called on businesses to step in by reaching out to state leaders and pushing for changes in both bills before the last legislative session on March 31st.
