SENATE BILL NO. 331

March 25, 2021, Introduced by Senators POLEHANKI, HOLLIER, WOJNO, ALEXANDER, CHANG, BRINKS, BULLOCK, MOSS, IRWIN, MCCANN, ANANICH, SANTANA, BAYER, HERTEL and GEISS and referred to the Committee on Economic and Small Business Development.

A bill to create a program to encourage and recognize employers that make progress in addressing pay inequality between men and women who perform comparable work; and to provide for the powers and duties of certain governmental officers and entities.

the people of the state of michigan enact:

Sec. 1. (1) This act shall be known and may be cited as the "pay equity in the workplace award program act".

(2) The pay equity in the workplace award program is established in the department of civil rights. The program shall encourage employers to eliminate barriers to equal pay for equal work and to equalize pay between men and women who perform comparable work. The program shall develop an award that recognizes employers in this state that have achieved progress toward those goals.

(3) The director of the department of civil rights, in cooperation with the executive office of the governor, shall create benchmarks for model practices and eligibility criteria for employers to receive the award developed under subsection (2). The criteria must include that an employer has made substantial efforts toward eliminating barriers to pay equality and has decreased pay disparities between men and women who perform comparable work. The director of the department of civil rights shall establish procedures for nomination, application, and presentation of the award at a ceremony recognizing employers throughout this state. An award ceremony must be organized so as to encourage proactive efforts by other employers to equalize pay between men and women performing comparable work.

Enacting section 1. This act takes effect 90 days after the date it is enacted into law.