State Senator Pat Spearman plans to introduce a bill on Tuesday, aimed at shrinking the wage gap between men and women in Nevada.
The bill is crafted after the national Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, and basically holds businesses accountable if they're caught discriminating against women in the workplace.
According to the National Women's Law Center, women in Nevada make roughly 83 to 85 cents for every dollar the average Nevada man makes. And bill advocates say it gets even worse if you break it down by race, with black and Hispanic women making even less.
"Women are still not earning what men earn, every single day, based on the dollar,” Progress Now Nevada Executive Director Annette Magnus said, “So we can do better in this state, and this bill does exactly that. It helps everyone do better in the state of Nevada."
Senator Spearman announced the bill at a rally at the legislative building Monday. It would protect women from retaliation if they pursue charges against a discriminatory business, and would entitle them to back pay up to two years if the employer is found in violation.
Offending businesses would pay a $10,000 fine for the first offense, which would increase for repeated offenses. And supporters say it's long overdue since women make up such a large share of the workforce now, and most families rely on their incomes.
"More and more women in this country and in this state are the breadwinners in their family,” Magnus said. “They're providing for their kids and their families and we need to make sure that they're getting an equal living."
If the bill passes, it would take effect on July 1 of this year.
