S  E  N  A  T  E     R  E  S  O  L  U  T  I  O  N

PROCLAIMING MAY 11, 2000, AS "RHODE ISLAND PAY EQUITY DAY"

WHEREAS, Women have entered the labor force in large numbers over the last decade. Rhode Island State Government has affirmed gender wage gaps in at least two major studies of the state's job evaluation and classification systems. As a result of both studies, the Administration with the Legislative Commission on Pay Equity has affirmed its support for the point factor system as a fair and equitable compensation system. The most recent study indicates that the wage gap is persistent and continues to widen under the current methodology; and

WHEREAS, National data shows that the wage gap for women of color is 64 cents for every dollar that men earn overall, while in Rhode Island it is 52 cents for women of color; and

WHEREAS, Raising women's wages would increase family income and cut poverty; and

WHEREAS, Pay Equity would boost pay for women and men in predominately female jobs in Rhode Island; and

WHEREAS, The Senate supports the principle of pay equity for public employees and encourages the Administration to work towards ensuring equal pay among job classes with similar levels of responsibility, knowledge, skill level and efforts; and

WHEREAS, The Senate also supports all efforts to attain and implement accurate and unbiased job evaluation systems and pay setting processes to foster equity for all jobs; and

WHEREAS, The Senate also supports the use of unbiased job evaluation systems which evaluates job on gender and race neutral factors to distinguish between legitimate differences in wages and wage differentials which are due to sex and race discrimination and occupational segregation; and

WHEREAS, Most research on this subject has concluded that much of the wage gap is attributed to sex and race based wage discrimination; and

WHEREAS, Fifteen states in the Nation have adopted statutes and twenty-four states have conducted studies and are moving toward pay equity; and

WHEREAS, The National Conference of State Legislatures urges all states to move toward the establishment of equitable compensation relationships between female and race dominated classes and further to establish pay equity through the enforcement of existing laws and the enactment of laws to guarantee equal pay for work of equal value; now therefore be it

RESOLVED, That this Senate of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations hereby declares May 11, 2000 as "Rhode Island Pay Equity Day" and urges all Rhode Islanders to join in urging all the other states in the nation to move toward the establishment of equitable compensation; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and he hereby is authorized and directed to transmit duly certified copies of this resolution to the Director of the Department of Administration, the Personnel Administrator of the Division of Human Resources, and the Co-chairs of the Legislative Commission on Pay Equity.