Equal pay bill passes Senate, heads to House

Equal pay bill passes Senate, heads to House

BATON ROUGE, LA (WAFB) - While similar measures died in a committee room, a vote on another equal pay bill on the Senate floor just passed.

The debate lasted about an hour and half, as one state senator says Louisiana ranks second to the last in the nation when it comes to equal pay.

Senator Edwin Murray says state and federal anti-discrimination laws already in place aren't strong enough.

His bill calls for equal pay regardless of sex, but interesting to note, the language in Edwin's bill is not gender specific.

"Draw the distinction between what your bill does based on what we currently have that is not sufficient," said Sen. Gerald Long, R-Winnfield.

"Once you file a complaint, you go to the Human Rights Commission. They will conduct an investigation and based on their findings you then go into court," said Sen. Murray, D-New Orleans.

Sen. Murray says it's a bigger measure than just paying women equal to men. He says it's about paying all people equal money. However, critics say it will hurt small businesses.

The bill now heads to the House after passing with a fairly close vote, 21 to 16.

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