Readers React:  Looking over the gender pay divide

To the editor: Kudos to Gov. Jerry Brown for signing the Fair Pay Act to close the “lingering wage gap between men and women.” (“Equal pay for women gets a boost,” Oct. 7, and “Fair Pay Act puts studios on the spot,” Oct. 8)

A labor law attorney is quoted as speculating that the new law “would drive some businesses out of California.”

Well, good riddance, and notably to those Fortune 500 companies that have lived off the backs of women for far too long.

All Californians deserve, and now expect, employers that will be happy to honor and respect both genders with equal pay for “substantially similar work.”

Tom Kaminski, Redondo Beach

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To the editor: A law for equal pay is not enough. Someone has to make sure the law is followed. We already have discrimination laws and government agencies that are supposed to hold employers accountable. But these agencies are pretty ineffective, I believe, especially when a public sector employer is involved. The court system is way too slow and the cost for an attorney is prohibitive to most employees. Plus, it is well known that complaining will only result in retaliation and job loss.

Susan McCormick, Norco

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To the editor: In what country does the state, not the free market, determine workers’ pay? It’s California.

Should we be thrilled that super-rich actresses can now be uber-rich?

This Soviet-style intrusion into the marketplace is likely to be a mass job killer. Now, in addition to an already burdensome state tax accounting responsibility, employers in the Peoples’ Republic will need a pay equity accounting department to micro-analyze each and every aspect of each and every job as it evolves over time, or face ruinous litigation.

My advice from 40 years of employment law experience is to move to Texas or North Carolina.

Mark F. Sullivan, Westlake Village

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