Letter from Legislative Democratic Caucus:
On a day when we gathered on the South steps of our Capitol to explain again why requiring equal pay for equal work is the right thing to do, at least six bills to make that idea law died in committee*.
Even a letter from the icon of equal pay for women, Mrs. Lillie Ledbetter, to legislative leadership did nothing to move the bills forward.
With the weak excuse that federal law already requires pay equity, Mississippi committee chairs in both the Senate and the House chose to keep Mississippi as one of two states that don’t have such a law on the books.
We appreciate those who once again worked to draw attention to the obvious – Mississippi women deserve to make the same pay as men who do the same jobs. This effort was bipartisan, it was enthusiastic, and it was right.
We will be back.