EDITORIAL: Bill on pay equity is unnecessary

The Assembly Government Affairs Committee heard testimony Thursday on a “pay equity” bill offered by Sandra Jauregui, a Las Vegas Democrat.

Assembly Bill 178 includes a host of proposals intended to make it easier to prove wage discrimination. Some are more reasonable than others — for instance, the bill prevents employers from retaliating against workers who disclose their pay to other employees. But overall, AB 178 is a bureaucratic nightmare intended to enrich the trial bar.

Particularly egregious is language that would force employers who are dragged into legal proceedings over their wage practices to “affirmatively” demonstrate that they haven’t discriminated. In street lingo, this means a company is guilty until proven innocent. In practice, it means a blizzard of new paperwork and higher compliance costs for Nevada employers.

Assembly Bill 178 reflects the progressive myth that women earn far less than men even when they hold similar jobs. The “women make 78 cents on the dollar” fantasy relies on statistical manipulation and ignores a host of relevant factors that have nothing to do with systemic bias.

Gender-based pay discrimination is already illegal in Nevada. Federal law also outlaws the practice. Genuine victims of such inequity have plenty of avenues to seek redress. There’s no need to litter the Nevada Revised Statutes with Assembly Bill 178.