Jean Godden
Jean Godden used to be one of six columnists for the now-closed Seattle Post-Intelligencer newspaper. The other five were men. Then, Godden, who is now a Seattle City Council member, found out she was the lowest paid of the six.
“I don’t want another woman to face the same problem I faced with wage discrimination,” Godden said at a Thursday announcement of two proposed bills in Washington’s Legislature to tackle the disparity between what men and women are paid for similar work.
“Even today, women are paid 80 cents for every dollar earned by men for similar work,” said Rep. Tana Senn, D-Mercer Island. Senn and Sen. Annette Cleveland, D-Vancouver, plan to introduce companion bills to require employers to provide valid reasons — such as differences in education, training or experience — if employees challenge pay disparities between workers of the opposite sex for essentially the same work.
The proposed bills would allow gender-based pay disputes to be taken to an administrative judge at the Washington Department of Labor & Industries. The bills would also forbid employers from ordering workers not to disclose their salaries, and would forbid ordering employees from sharing pay information with each other. Nine states have similar laws.
More To Read
January 19, 2019
Only the Wealthy Decide What Social Issues to Fix
Corporate and billionaire giving helps their image more than it helps us
January 10, 2019
Response to Supreme Court Forgoing Direct Review of Seattle’s Income Tax on the Affluent
We look forward to the legal review of the Court of Appeals and ultimately the State Supreme Court
January 8, 2019
Governor Inslee Announces EOI-Backed Cascade Care, a Public Option Health Plan
Cascade Care ensures that Washingtonians pay no more than 10% of their income on health premiums