Rep. Carroll Fights for Women to Receive Equal Pay in Workplace

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – State Rep. Jonathan Carroll, D-Buffalo Grove, voted on Wednesday to help close the chronic pay gap women suffer in the workplace.

“Today was a step in the right direction towards ensuring women earn equal pay for equal work,” Carroll said. “I want my daughter to grow up in a country where she can expect to get paid the same as her male counterparts.”

The Carroll-backed House Bill 2462 prohibits employers from paying women less when they do the same job and have the same experience. The measure also makes it illegal for an employer to require potential applicants to reveal their salary history during the job application process, which often locks women into a lifetime of lower pay. Both Massachusetts and Philadelphia recently passed similar equal pay legislation.

“Too many people believe pay discrimination hurts women alone,” Carroll continued. “But the fact that women earn 79 percent relative to men does not just hurt women – it hurts men, families, small businesses and every other part of our local economy.”