Dear Neighbors and Friends,
We returned to the Capitol this week after a weekend of two important holidays. The first holiday is certainly celebrated in Minnesota more than other states, and that’s the fishing opener. It marks the unofficial start of our summer season, no matter what the weather is telling us!
The second holiday, of course, was Mother’s Day. That holiday is meant to celebrate the hard work and dedication that mothers show when raising the next generation of Minnesotan’s. It’s fitting then, that we would celebrate those women at the Capitol as well.
(Me, Patty Tanji, and Sen. Pappas)
After being passed by the House and Senate this session, the Women’s Economic Security Act (WESA) was signed into law by Governor Mark Dayton just yesterday. WESA will help address the wage gap that still exists for female workers by updating outdated workplace policies. More and more households are relying on women as their primary wage earner, and we owe it to those households to ensure they are on equal footing financially.
(Patty Tanji, her daughter Laura, and me)
These are common sense provisions that received broad bipartisan support from over 100 lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. I personally worked on this piece of legislation and I’m proud to see it signed into law. If you’d like to learn more about the specific provisions in the bill, you can look at the bullet points listed below. If you still have questions, please feel free to contact me.
Sandra Masin
WESA takes the following steps to update workplace policies:
Closing the Gender Pay Gap
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Reduces the gender pay gap through increased enforcement of equal pay laws for state contractors by requiring businesses with 40 or more employees seeking state contracts over $500,000 to certify they are paying equal wages to workers regardless of gender.
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Expands support for employers; workforce organizations; and others to recruit, prepare, place and retain women in nontraditional occupations and apprenticeships, especially low income and older women.
Stronger Workplace Protections and Expanded Leave
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Requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations to an employee for health conditions related to pregnancy or childbirth.
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Expands unpaid leave under the Minnesota Parental Leave Act from 6 to 12 weeks and allows use of leave during pregnancy.
Enhanced support for victims of violence
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Allows employees to use existing earned sick leave to recover from sexual assault, domestic violence, or stalking.