DFL raises concerns over repeal effort of pay equity for women

DFL legislators are raising concerns about a Republican-backed effort to repeal pay equity laws for women.

House Republicans introduced a bill early in the session to repeal dozens of state mandates on cities and counties. The 1984 Local Government Pay Equity Act is included in the proposed repeal. During a news conference Tuesday, DFL Rep. Kate Knuth of New Brighton said repeal is a bad idea.

"It really doesn't make any sense to me that the Republicans would repeal legal protections that help us make this progress and help our local government s stay accountable in terms of equality for work for equal pay," Knuth said. "I don't know why they would want to repeal these laws when we still haven't achieved full equality in the workforce in terms of pay."

Republican Rep. Steve Drazkowski of Mazeppa, the chief author of the mandate repeal bill in the House, was not immediately available to comment on the DFL concerns.

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