Bluestem has following the response of the Greater Minnesota press to Representative steve Drazkowski's attempt to redefine the Local Government Pay Equity Act as an unfunded state mandate.
It isn't pretty.
The latest rejection for the Draz comes from the St. Cloud Times editorial board, which weighed in with Getting rid of the pay equity act is not solution:
Of the many ideas being proposed in St. Paul to supposedly save Minnesotans money, the idea to scuttle the Local Government Pay Equity Act is among the most depressing.
Rep. Steve Drazkowski, a Republican from Mazeppa, claims the act is outdated and burdensome for cities and counties. It is intended to make sure men and women earn equal pay for comparable jobs.
For starters, what are the facts behind Drazkowski’s claim?
That’s an important question. The act is approaching 30 years old, yet statistics show most local governments are finally reaching that seemingly simple standard. . . .
. . .Here are a few quick answers: The law requires a two-page report from each local government every three years. In it are job classes, gender breakdowns by each class and pay levels. Again, noting today’s technology and governments spending the past 25-plus years compiling such data, it’s hard to see this really being a resource killer.
More importantly, it seems there is no shortage of gaps. According to The Winona Daily News, in the past 14 years, 96 resolved penalties resulted in more than $1.2 million in restitution to 1,300 employees and nearly $210,000 in fines.
Still, perhaps the act can be updated. Maybe reports can be filed every five years for governments with clean records. Better yet, how about boosting penalties? After all, this law has been in effect since 1986. It’s not exactly new to local governments.
If it took almost three decades to reach pay equity, how can the process be a burden, much less outdated?
Fair-minded Minnesotans are more likely to see it as beneficial and, if anything, too slow in affecting change. If it took this long to achieve pay equity, what’s to inspire the confidence that equity will be maintained if the state’s only measure of compliance is suddenly dropped?
These are good ideas--minimize minimal paperwork for local governments with a clean record, while punching up penalties for those that don't comply.
Whose rural values, part 2: Draz plan to end pay equity gets New Ulm Journal's thumbs down
Whose rural values? Drazkowski plan to end pay equity gets Greater MN's thumbs down,
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