NFIB opposition efforts helped kill the ‘trial lawyers’ dream’ legislation.
Equal Pay Bill Fails House
Lucky
for Louisiana small business owners, Senate Bill 254—the equal pay bill
sponsored by Sen. JP Morrell and pushed by Gov. John Bel Edwards—failed to pass
the House Labor and Industrial Relations Committee by a vote of 10-5. SB 254
passed the Senate in mid-April, but faced more opposition in the House.
NFIB/Louisiana
has been heavily involved in fighting this bill, which State Director Dawn
Starns called ‘a trial lawyer’s dream.’ Starns teamed up with Melissa Landry,
executive director of the Louisiana Lawsuit Abuse Watch, to write an op-ed for The Acadiana
Advocate about how the bill would generate lawsuits, rather than equal
pay.
They
note that under the bill:
- Employers
cannot pay workers differently for “substantially similar” work. - The
statute of limitations for filing litigation in wage disparity cases would
be expanded. - Potential
payouts for personal injury trial lawyers and their clients would be
increased. - Employers
would have a more difficult time defending themselves from meritless clams
because of the subjective language of the legislation. - Employers
could be found liable for “unintentional discrimination.”
“These
intentionally vague and subjective standards will undoubtedly be litigated in
court, essentially taking compensation decisions away from employers and putting
them in the hands of judges and juries to decide,” Starns and Landry wrote. “In
fact, it is not hard to imagine a scenario where employers are required to
justify individual pay decisions in court on a case-by-case basis, all while
paying thousands of dollars in legal costs. This would wreak havoc on small
businesses in particular, which account for more than 55 percent of all private
sector jobs in Louisiana.”
