LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION memorializing Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to
proclaim April 12, 2016, as Equal Pay Day in the State of New York

WHEREAS, Over 50 years after the passage of the Equal Pay Act and Title
VII of the Civil Rights Act, women, especially minority women, continue
to suffer the consequences of unequal pay; and
WHEREAS, According to the U.S. Census Bureau, year-round, full-time
working women in 2010 earned only 77.4% of the earnings of year-round,
full-time working men, indicating little change or progress in pay equi-
ty; and
WHEREAS, Wage disparity persists across all educational levels and in
all states, as women with a college degree or higher lose $713,000 over
a 40-year period versus a $270,000 loss for women who did not finish
high school; and
WHEREAS, Over a working lifetime, this wage disparity costs the aver-
age American woman and her family an estimated $700,000 to $2 million in
lost wages, impacting Social Security benefits and pensions; and
WHEREAS, Fair pay equity policies can be implemented simply and with-
out undue costs or hardship in both the public and private sectors; and
WHEREAS, Fair pay strengthens the security of families today and eases
future retirement costs, while enhancing the American economy; and
WHEREAS, In female-dominated fields, wages have traditionally been
depressed and continue to reflect the artificially suppressed pay scales
that were historically applied to so-called "women's work"; and
WHEREAS, Tuesday, April 12, 2016, symbolizes the time in the New Year
in which the wages paid to American women catch up to the wages paid to
men from the previous year; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
memorialize Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to proclaim April 12, 2016, as
Equal Pay Day in the State of New York, recognizing the full value of
women's skills and significant contributions to the labor force, and to
further encourage businesses to conduct an internal pay evaluation to
ensure women are being paid fairly; and be it further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to The Honorable Andrew M. Cuomo, Governor of the State of New
York.