Gender wage gap bill advanced by California lawmakers

California lawmakers approved AB1017, a bill that aims to end the cycle of women's wages lagging behind men's pay.|
ASSOCIATED PRESS
ASSOCIATED PRESS

SACRAMENTO — California lawmakers are advancing another bill aimed at closing the gender wage gap in California.

The state Senate approved AB1017 by Democratic Assemblywoman Nora Campos of San Jose on Tuesday on a 22-14 vote.

It aims to end the cycle of women's wages lagging behind men's pay by barring employers from using previous salary information as justification for paying women less than their male co-workers.

Lawmakers a day earlier sent Gov. Jerry Brown a bill allowing women workers to challenge pay discrimination based on wages paid to other employees who perform similar tasks.

That bill passed unanimously. But some lawmakers balked at Campos' bill, noting that the Legislature itself uses previous salary information to set employees' wages.

Campos' bill returns to the Assembly for a final vote.

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