The destruction of families and the society in Utah is the main concern of a Republican when it comes to equal pay. He claims that pushing forward with this wages proposal between men and women will do more harm than good.
The Washington Post reported Senate Bill 210 was submitted in an attempt to address the pay gap in the state and a Republican wrote a letter criticizing it. The letter included statements from James Green, who said men really earned more than women and argued the bill should not be passed because men are the primary breadwinners. He also said if women will have equal pay as to men, it would ruin the set-up of a traditional family where mothers should remain at home and raise their kids.
Green also said having more women in the workforce would create more competition even in jobs designed for men, Refinery 29 reported. "It's a vicious cycle that only gets worse the more equality of pay is forced upon us," he said. "It's a situation of well-meaning intentions, but negative unintended consequences."
The letter of Green was printed in two local publications and after being released, it prompted outrage. Green apologized for what he wrote and resigned from his post as the vice chair of the Wasatch County Republican Party. He said in his apology he did not mean to offend women.
The Utah Women's Coalition, which supports Senate Bill 210, took to social media to talk about the comments of Green. Stephanie Pitcher of the Coalition said the remarks of Green were disappointing and contradicted the federal Fair Labor Standards Act.
Senate Bill 210 was authored by State Senator Jacob Anderegg and proposed a study will be made to know if there is a pay gap between male and female workers. In Utah, women make 71 cents for every dollar paid to men. If approved, employers will also have to adopt criteria that will determine if someone should get a raise or not as per performance.
