One of the items on the affordability agenda for Virginia Democrats this year is the Equal Pay Act.
Preventing employers from asking about salary history for potential hires has been a goal for Senator Jennifer Boysko for years. In session after session, the Democrat from Herndon has tried and failed to pass what she calls the Equal Pay Act.
"When I first started carrying this in 2017, they said it would be too difficult," Boysko says. "And I respond, ‘What's difficult is not being able to be paid as much as you are worth.’"
Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin vetoed Boysko’s bill not once, but twice. Now, Virginia is about to have a new governor. And Delegate Michelle Maldonado, a Democrat from Manassas Park, says she's hopeful Abigail Spanberger will sign the bill.
"It does fall very nicely into our affordability plans about how we’re trying to make things affordable for everyday folks," Maldonado says. "And certainly, having good salaries, good compensation and benefits packages falls right into that for people to be able to care for themselves and for their families."
According to the National Women's Law Center, women in Virginia earn 74 cents on the dollar compared to men.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
