In the News

Rep. Salud Carbajal, D-Santa Barbara, recognized Equal Pay Day on Tuesday and co-sponsored the Paycheck Fairness Act, legislation that would strengthen the Equal Pay Act of 1963 and guarantee women can challenge pay discrimination.

Equal Pay Day symbolizes the date when women's wages finally catch up to what men were paid in the previous year.

"Over 50 years after the Equal Pay Act was signed into law the wage gap persists, harming not only women but, also, the families they support," Carbajal said. "Equal Pay Day is a stark reminder of the significant inequality that exists in the workforce."

Carbajal joined Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro in co-sponsoring the legislation in the House of Representatives and said he was proud work to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act, "to ensure that all hardworking women on the Central Coast and across our country are getting paid what they have rightfully earned."

Despite making up half the workforce, more than five decades after the passage of the Equal Pay Act of 1963, American women still make only 80 cents, on average, for every dollar earned by a man, according to statistics.

The gap is even wider for women of color, with African American women making 63 cents on the dollar, and Hispanic women making only 54 cents, on average, compared with white men, according to statistics.

The Paycheck Fairness Act would strengthen and close loopholes in the Equal Pay Act of 1963 by holding employers accountable for discriminatory practices, ending the practice of pay secrecy, and easing workers' ability to individually or jointly challenge pay discrimination.