SB 2451 provides Mississippians far weaker equal pay protections than the already deficient protections they currently have under federal law. This bill makes it even more difficult than it already is for a victim to access justice. And, under this bill, it pays for an employer to violate the law because they will only have to pay an employee what they should have paid her to begin with—an employer doesn’t have to fully compensate a victim for the harms she has suffered. The bill doesn’t address race, leaving Black women out, and doesn’t ban relying on applicants’ salary history even though data shows that practice perpetuates gender pay gaps.
HB 770 is the opposite of an equal pay bill. It rubber stamps employers’ decision to pay women less for equal work. It leaves Black women out. And any Mississippian who chooses to use the alleged equal pay protections in this bill would actually be left with fewer rights than they have now.