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A4   U.S. NEWS
                  Thursday 31 March 2022
             Mississippi could become final state with equal pay law



            By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS                                                                                             work the same job and not
            JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mis-                                                                                          receive  the  same  rate  of
            sissippi  could  become  the                                                                                        pay," Turner Ford said.
            final  state  to  enact  a  law                                                                                     Separate federal laws ban
            requiring  equal  pay  for                                                                                          pay  discrimination  based
            equal work by women and                                                                                             on  race  or  disability.  Al-
            men, after the state House                                                                                          though people can already
            and  Senate  passed  the  fi-                                                                                       file federal lawsuits seeking
            nal version of a bill Wednes-                                                                                       challenging  unequal  pay
            day.                                                                                                                based on sex, Mississippi At-
            The bill goes to Republican                                                                                         torney  General  Lynn  Fitch
            Gov.  Tate  Reeves,  and  he                                                                                        said filing a lawsuit in state
            has not said whether he will                                                                                        court could be less expen-
            sign  it.  When  he  was  lieu-                                                                                     sive.
            tenant  governor,  Reeves                                                                                           A  2017  report  by  the  Mis-
            let a similar bill die.                                                                                             sissippi  University  Research
            A 1963 federal law requires                                                                                         Center  showed  women
            equal  pay  for  equal  work,                                                                                       earned 27% less than men
            but  Mississippi  is  the  only                                                                                     for  fulltime  work  in  Missis-
            state without its own equal                                                                                         sippi,  compared  to  a  19%
            pay  law.  Alabama  enact-                                                                                          wage gap nationwide. The
            ed one in 2019.              Sen. Angela Turner Ford, D-West Point, left, listens to Sen. Nicole Boyd, R-Oxford, discuss legisla-  study said some of the gap
            The  Mississippi  bill  says  a   tion, in the Senate Chamber, Monday, March 28, 2022, at the Mississippi Capitol in Jackson.   could be explained by the
            worker  must  file  a  lawsuit                                                                     Associated Press  types  of  jobs  women  and
            within  two  years  of  when                                                                                        men were working, but the
            the worker "knew or should  She said the bill also allows  tions."                     ing the state of Mississippi.'  unexplained wage gap re-
            have  known"  about  pay  lower  pay  if  a  worker  has  Several  exceptions  are  al-  We want you to work here,  mained  about  18%  in  Mis-
            discrepancies.               taken  months  or  years  off  lowed,  including  seniority,  and we want your rights to  sissippi and about 15% na-
            If  the  lawsuit  is  successful,  to care for children or older  merit, quantity or quality of  be protected,'" Boyd said.  tionwide.
            the  worker  could  receive  parents.                     production and "any factor  Democratic  Sen.  Angela  Fitch,  a  Republican,  has
            court costs, attorneys' fees  "During   this   pandemic,  other  than  sex,"  including  Turner  Ford  of  West  Point  pushed  for  an  equal  pay
            and  the  amount  she  —  or  women have been forced  salary  history  and  whether  voted      "present,"   which  law  for  years.  In  a  state-
            he — should have received  to  leave  the  workforce  for  there  was  competition  to  counted  neither  for  nor  ment    Wednesday,     she
            to cover the wage gap. No  caregiving  responsibilities,"  hire an employee.           against  the  bill.  She  said  called it "basic fairness."
            additional  financial  dam-  Welchlin  said  Wednesday.  Republican Sens. Brice Wig-   said after the vote that em-  If  Reeves  signs  the  bill  into
            ages would be allowed.       "It's just an equal pay bill in  gins of Pascagoula and Ni-  ployers  could  save  money  law,  Fitch  said:  "We  will
            Cassandra  Welchlin,  lead-  name only."                  cole  Boyd  of  Oxford  were  by  paying  unequal  wages  take  a  giant  leap  forward
            er  of  the  Mississippi  Black  House  Bill  770  says  busi-  among  the  six  lawmakers  because lawsuits could be  in closing the 27% pay gap
            Women's  Roundtable,  ad-    nesses  with  at  least  five  who  negotiated  the  final  difficult  to  win.  Turner  Ford  —  a  pay  gap  that  makes
            vocates for equal pay but  employees must pay equal  version  of  the  bill.  Wiggins  also  said  the  bill  does  not  it harder for working wom-
            said the bill is "harmful" be-  wages to women and men  described  it  as  "business  ban unequal pay based on  en  and  their  families,  that
            cause  it  would  allow  an  who work fulltime jobs that  friendly."  Boyd  said  the  bill  race.                  leads  to  young  Mississippi
            employer to pay a woman  require  "equal  skill,  educa-  is "a good step in the right  "White  men,  Black  men,  women taking their talents
            less than a man based on  tion,  effort  and  responsibil-  direction."                white women, Black wom-      beyond  our  borders  and
            the  pay  history  that  work-  ity" and that are done "un-  "It  says  to  young  women,  en — there's no reason for  that perpetuates the cycle
            ers  bring  into  new  jobs.  der  similar  working  condi-  'We  care  about  you  stay-  each of these individuals to  of poverty in our state."q

            Police: 12-year-old killed by younger brother who found gun



                                                                      12-year-old  brother  as  the  On Friday, two young cous-  want to ensure these guns
                                                                      two  played  with  a  gun  ins who were livestreaming  are secured safely."
                                                                      they found inside a St. Louis  from a St. Louis apartment  According to a leading gun
                                                                      home, police said.           died when one child fatally  control  advocacy  group,
                                                                      The  shooting  happened  shot the other before killing  Everytown  for  Gun  Safe-
                                                                      Tuesday  night  in  a  north  herself in what family mem-  ty,  in  2020,  unintentional
                                                                      St.  Louis  neighborhood,  bers have said was an ac-      shootings by children under
                                                                      KMOV-TV  reported.  Police  cident.                       18  years  old  in  the  United
                                                                      said  the  boys  were  with  a  In  February,  a  12-year-old  States left 142 people dead
                                                                      parent  who  was  getting  a  girl was wounded in an ac-  and 242 wounded.
                                                                      haircut  in  the  home  when  cidental self-inflicted shoot-  In  2021,  the  number  of
                                                                      the  older  boy  was  shot  in  ing.                      deaths climbed to 154 and
                                                                      the face.                    St. Louis Metropolitan Police  the number wounded rose
                                                                      Police  said  a  woman  was  Maj.  Ryan  Cousins  urged  slightly  to  244.  According
                                                                      arrested  Wednesday  on  residents to use gun locks.      to  the  group's  data  and
                                                                      a  possible  charge  of  en-  "As  an  agency,  we  will  St.  Louis'  most  recent  gun
            Family members of a deceased 12-year-old boy grieve at the   dangering  the  welfare  of  come  out  and  teach  ev-  deaths  involving  children,
            scene where police say the child was shot and killed while play-
            ing with a gun that he and a 10-year-old found inside a home in   a  child,  the  St.  Louis  Post-  eryone  how  to  use  them,"  at  least  20  people  have
            St. Louis on Tuesday, March 29, 2022.                     Dispatch reported.           Cousins  said.  "We  do  un-  been killed and more than
                                                     Associated Press  The death follows a spate of  derstand people are going  30 have been wounded in
                                                                      shootings in St. Louis involv-  to  own  guns;  however,  to  such  shootings  so  far  this
            ST. LOUIS (AP) — A 10-year-  old  boy  fatally  shot  his  ing children handling guns.  protect  these  children,  we  year.q
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