The Commonwealth
of Boshka
43rd Legislature, Premiere Session
148th Sitting
C - 154
____________________________________________________________________
THE HOUSE OF COMMONS OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF BOSHKA
24 August 2018
Received; read the first time
24 August 2018
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
1. Short title
This Act may be cited as "The Equal Payment Act of 2018".
Section 1.
As studies have shown and throughout history, we have seen that people of a certain gender have been, regularly payed more than those of the opposite gender. Studies have also shown us, that veterans and those employees with special needs have been payed less than those who are not veterans and without special needs. We recognize that there must be provisions made to equalize the pay gap.
Section 2.
(Definitions)
(A) The term "gender" means, the state of being male or female (typically used with reference to social and cultural differences rather than biological ones).
(B) The term "pay" means, to make due return for services rendered.
(C) The term "employees" refers to, a person employed for wages or salary, especially at non-executive level.
(D) The term "veterans" refers to, a person(s) who has served or is serving in the Armed Forces.
(E) The term "special needs" refers to, individuals who require assistance for disabilities that may be medical, mental, or psychological.
(F) The term "equal" or "equalize" means to, being the same in quantity, size, degree, or value. To make the same in quantity, size, or degree throughout a place or group.
(G) The term "pay gap" refers to, the average difference between the remuneration for men and women who are working.
Section 3.
(History)
(A) There are two distinct numbers regarding the pay gap: unadjusted versus adjusted pay gap. The latter takes into account differences in hours worked, occupations chosen, education and job experience. For example, someone who takes time off (e.g. maternity leave) will likely not earn as much as someone who does not take time off from work. Factors like this contribute to lower yearly earnings for women; while the pay gap has narrowed over time, a gender pay gap still exists, even when controlling for these external factors. [1][not in citation given][2] Unadjusted pay gaps are much higher. In the United States, for example the unadjusted average female's annual salary has commonly been cited as being 78% of the average male salary, compared to 88-93% for the adjusted average salary for college graduates.[3][4]
(B) References
[1] Blau, Francine D.; Kahn, Lawrence M. (2007). "The Gender Pay Gap: Have Women Gone as Far as They Can?" (PDF). Academy of Management Perspectives. 21(1): 7–23. doi:10.5465/AMP.2007.24286161.
[2] European Commission. The situation in the EU. Retrieved on July 12, 2011.
[3] O'Brien, Sara Ashley (April 14, 2015). "78 cents on the dollar: The facts about the gender wage gap". CNN Money. New York. Retrieved May 28, 2015. 7% wage gap between male and female college grads a year after graduation even controlling for college major, occupation, age, geographical region and hours worked.
[4] The Simple Truth about the Gender Pay Gap Report(PDF) (Report). 1310 L St. NW, Suite 1000 Washington, DC 20005: AAUW. Spring 2018. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
Section 4.
(A) Employees who work similar/same job with the same number of responsibilities, should all receive equal pay. Exceptions in this case would only be;
(1) Employee's who work over normal scheduled hours (over-time).
(2) Employees that receive a promotion. In this case, number of job duties/responsibilities would have increased.
(3) Those individuals who are currently severing or have served in the Armed Forces of Boshka, but may not exceed 5% increase in base pay.
(4) Employee' may receive a pay increase each year for those who have yearly evaluations. Only then, may an employee receive more pay than their co-worker due to the quality of job performance.
Section 5.
(A) Employee's who become pregnant and employee's who's spouses become pregnant while still employed are entitled to the following standard benefits:
(1) A minimum of 12 weeks (three months) of maternity leave for pregnant employees.
(2) Pregnant employees shall receive the same amount of pay and benefits as non-pregnant employees.
(3) A employed spouse of someone that becomes pregnant may receive, no less than 4 weeks (one month) of maternity leave with same pay and benefits as employees who's spouse is not pregnant.
Section 6.
(A) For those companies or employers that are found to be in violation of this ACT, the following will apply:
(1) 1st Offence: Written warning letter and Account audit/monitoring for six (6) months.
(2) 2nd Offence: Fine up to $5,000 CBD and Account audit/monitoring for one (1) year.
(3) 3rd Offense: Fine up to $10,000 CBD and Account audit/monitoring for one (1) year and six (6) months.
(4) 4th Offense: Fine up to $15,000 CBD and business licence suspended for six (6) months.
(5) 5th Offense: Fine up to $25,000 CBD and business licence revoked. May reapply for business license after max of one (1) year.
(6) 6th Offense: Fine up to $100,000 CBD and maximum of 5 years in prison. Business licence may not be purchased after 6th offense by same proprietor/owner.
__________________________________________________________________
Passed in The House of Commons 30 August 2018.
ATTEST:
Natalya Ivashov - Clerk