Cuomo Signs Pay Equity Bills

Senate sponsor Alessandra Biaggi says the expansion of the equal pay protections helps to address what she says is a “systematic” issue of pay discrimination that is “plaguing” marginalized communities. And she says the new law places less of a burden on the worker to prove that there is a pay discrimination issue and more of the responsibility on the employer to remedy the situation.

 “It’s shifting the burden of proof from the employee to the employer,” Biaggi said. “And also making sure that the burden is not on the person who is coming forward.”

“This is a first step toward closing the wage gap in New York State,” Biaggi said. “Culture sometimes takes a while to catch up, and often times when you pass a law, the law can change the culture.”