Members of the Iowa House overwhelmingly supported passage of a bill that seeks to add pay discrimination into the Iowa Civil Rights Code. The bill, which was first past along party lines by the Iowa Senate on Feb. 16, had minor changes in the House version that will require another nod from the Senate before heading to the Governor's desk. The House changes are primarily cosmetic. Information that was previously placed into an existing subparagraph of the Civil Rights Code was pulled out and then given its own new subparagraph. Therefore, it is highly likely that the bill will once again gain Senate approval.
The bill requires that Iowans having jobs that require equal skills, effort and responsibility that are done in the same working conditions are paid equally.
If passed into law, employers with four or more employees found guilty of "willful and wanton" violations could be forced to pay an amount equal to up to three times the wage differential in question for the full period of time that the discrimination occurred. Employers guilty of wage discrimination of the non-willful and wanton variety could be forced to pay up to two times the wage differential.
Despite the fact that this bill has been extolled as a protection against the type of pay discrimination -- at all levels of employment and career -- that often impacts women, four Republican women lawmakers have voted against it. Sens. Nancy Boettger (Shelby County), Kim Reynolds (Clarke County) and Pat Ward (Polk County) joined with the entire Republican delegation to vote against passage. Rep. Betty DeBoef (Keokuk County) was the lone woman in the Iowa House to provide a dissenting vote.
All Democratic women lawmakers voted in favor of passage. Republican women in the Iowa House who voted in favor were Reps. Linda Miller (Scott County), Dawn Pettengill (Benton County), Renee Schulte (Linn County), Annette Sweeney (Hardin County), Jodi Tymeson (Madison County) and Linda Upmeyer (Hancock County).
"We live in a state where women made about 78 cents for every dollar men made in 2007, and our state ranks 37th among all states for gender wage equality," said Rep. Vicki Lensing, D-Johnson County, in a prepared statement. "This law will send a positive message to all current and potential Iowans that we are a welcoming state to men and women, racial and cultural minorities and people with disabilities."
In March 2008, Lt. Gov. Patty Judge released a study on wage disparity in Iowa.
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