RESOLUTION NO. _____________

BOARD OF SUPERVISORS, COUNTY OF SAN MATEO, STATE OF CALIFORNIA

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RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF AB 2555 (OROPEZA), WAGES: GENDER PAY EQUITY

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RESOLVED, by the Board of Supervisors of the County of San Mateo, State of California, that

WHEREAS, according to the 2002 US Census Bureau, American women, working full-time, year-round earned on average only $0.766 for every dollar earned by full-time working men; and

WHEREAS, for women of color, the gap is even worse – only $0.69 for African American women and $0.58 for Latinas; and

WHEREAS, a General Accounting Office report on women’s earnings shows that there is an inexplicable wage gap of approximately 20 percent even after taking into account work experience, education, occupation, industry of current employment and other characteristics; and

WHEREAS, while current law prohibits employers from paying an employee a wage less than that paid to employees of the opposite sex in the same establishment for equal work, current penalties against the employer and remedies for the aggrieved employee are inadequate; and

WHEREAS, AB 2555 substantially increases the damages for which an employer may be liable to include a civil penalty of twice the balance of the wages due to the aggrieved employee, or four times the balance of wages due if the employer's violation is willful;

NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS HEREBY DETERMINED AND ORDERED that the Board of Supervisors by adoption of this resolution does hereby support AB 2555 (Oropeza) regarding wages and gender pay equity.

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