The SCDC issued this press release titled State Senator Steve Oroho Votes Against Equal Pay for Equal Work

(Trenton, New Jersey) – State Senator Steven Oroho, was one of only four senators who voted against a bill that aims to close the earnings gap between men and women in the state of New Jersey.

The bill, S992, passed overwhelmingly by a vote of 28 to 4, during the legislative session on Thursday, February eleventh. It now goes to the Assembly for a vote.

According to the National Women’s Law Center, full-time, year-round women workers are still typically paid just 79 cents for every dollar paid to full-time, year-round men workers.

Sussex County Democratic Committee chairwoman Leslie Huhn expressed her disappointment at the Senator’s vote. “Senator Oroho once again takes the side of multi-national corporations over hard working Americans. Equal pay for women is a family issue and a fairness issue. Senator Oroho is 1 of 4 to vote against this measure; yet again, he is out of step with the voters he represents in Sussex County. Sussex County voters believe their mothers, daughters, sisters and grandmothers deserve equal pay for equal work."

This bill modifies current law, to strengthen protections against employment discrimination and promote equal pay for women. The bill further amends New Jersey’s 1945 Law Against Discrimination (LAD) to make it an unlawful employment practice for an employer to discriminate between employees on the basis of sex by paying a rate of compensation, including benefits, to employees of one sex less than the rate paid to employees of the other sex for substantially similar work, when viewed as a composite of skill, effort and responsibility.

Joining Oroho in voting against the bill were Republicans Joseph Kyrillos, Jr., Jennifer Beck, and Joseph Pennacchio. Six of the eight senators who were absent for the vote were Republicans. All twenty-two Democrats where were present voted to pass the bill. They were joined by six Republicans.