Oregon Gov. Kate Brown will sign a bill Thursday that aims to make sure women are paid the same as men. Advocates say the measure will also help ensure disabled people are paid fairly.
Bob Joondeph, the executive director of Disability Rights Oregon, says people with disabilities are often paid less than their colleagues, even when performing comparable work.
He says that's in part because disabled people will often accept lower wages if they're desperate to get and keep a job. But he says employers frequently lowball disabled workers because they don't think they're up to the task.
Joondeph says the bill will hold those employers accountable by strengthening the right of workers to sue their employer.
"We will end up in a world in which pay decisions will be made based on the quality of a person's work, rather than on some preconception of what that person's work is worth," he said.
The pay equity bill initially met with stiff resistance from business groups but a compromise version ultimately passed the Oregon House and Senate without opposition.
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