LANSING - Today Sen. Deb Cherry (D-Burton) joined colleagues and women’s rights organizations in support of legislation that would amend the Elliot-Larsen Civil Rights Act to require employers to provide equal pay for equal work, or work that is of a “comparable value.”

“It is a disgrace that a woman in Michigan working in the same job position, with the same education and experience, doing the same work as a male colleague is still only makes 72 cents for every dollar he makes,” said Sen. Cherry. “Women have come far in their struggle for equal rights, but the pay gap is an issue that must be addressed if we’re going to continue to make social and economic progress.”

According the Bureau of Labor Statistics, women nationally earn about 78 cents for every dollar a man earns. In Michigan, that amount is only 72 cents. Currently Michigan is ranked 44th in the U.S. for women’s wage parity with men.

Legislation introduced today by Sen. Liz Brater and co-sponsored by Cherry and several Democratic senators would make pay discrimination based on sex, religion, race, color, national origin, age, height, weight, or marital status a civil rights violation. It was introduced in conjunction with Equal Pay Day, which symbolizes how far into the year a woman must work to earn as much as a man earned the previous year.

This legislation is supported by the American Association of University Women of Michigan, Business and Professional Women, Michigan Federation, League of Women Voters of Michigan, Ingham County Women’s Commission, Metro-Detroit Chapter of the Coalition of Labor Union Women, Michigan National Organization for Women, Michigan Women’s Commission, Michigan WomenWork!, Michigan Pay Equity Network, and the White House Project.

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