The House voted to expand Maryland’s laws on pay parity among men and women a week and a half ago, but two Anne Arundel delegates have taken to social media to continue the debate, using Facebook posts to heap “shame” upon each other.
The Equal Pay for Equal Work act prevents wage discrimination on the basis of gender identity and prohibits repercussions against employees who discuss their wages. It passed the House by a 93-47 vote on March 18, and the Senate approved its own version late last week.
Del. Pam Beidle, D-Linthicum, lauded the bill in a post on Facebook and criticized two Anne Arundel delegates in particular — Sid Saab, R-Crownsville, and Seth Howard, R-West River — for opposing it.
“It is time for women to earn equal pay,” she wrote. “The vote was very partisan, interesting. The Republican men say they are concerned about the impact on small business. How about the impact on the quality of life for women and their families. (sic) Shame on the men, especially Delegates Sid Saab and Seth Howard.”
All 47 delegates who voted against the measure, including Saab, Howard and Minority Leader Nic Kipke, R-Pasadena, are Republicans, though Anne Arundel Republicans also crossed party lines to support it. Del. Meagan Simonaire, R-Pasadena, and Del. Herb McMillan, R-Annapolis, were among those who cast a “yes” vote.
Saab posted a defense of his vote on his Facebook page the next day, which criticized Beidle for calling him out by name.
“Dont (sic) be fooled by the liberal rhetoric in making this about a war on women and equality. … Please note that ten female delegates also voted against this bill,” he wrote.
“In politics, we can agree to disagree and we do it in a professional manner. The real shame here should be placed on the Vice-Chair of the Anne Arundel County Delegation, who not only attacks all of the male delegates who disagree with her, but singles out 2 members of her own delegation.”
On his own page, Howard responded: “to say that I don’t want to ensure equal pay is deceptive at best.”
“On a personal note. I was raised by a single mother who worked hard to provide for me, and did a great job at it! I would never take purposeful action to ensure my mother, wife or daughter (or anyone else’s) were not paid equal to there (sic) male coworkers! It’s sad to see my Anne Arundel delegation Vice Chair Pam Beidle characterize me in such a way.”
The exchange follows extended debate over the bill in both chambers.
Democrats have praised the measure as a step toward closing the wage gap, which in Maryland sees women earning 85 cents for every dollar earned by a man, according to a recent report published by the American Association of University Women. Nationwide, the disparity is even greater, with women earning an average of 79 cents on the dollar.
But many Republicans were concerned the bill would be a burden on the state’s small business owners, who would have to disprove complaints brought against them. They also took exception to the time period in which workers would be allowed to file a complaint. While the Senate version of the legislation set a window of three years after the employee’s last paycheck is issued, the House bill had a much broader statute of limitations of three years after the disparity is discovered.
The state’s Chamber of Commerce and the National Federation of Independent Business were among the business groups that opposed the measure.
While Saab said he wouldn’t want his wife or daughter to be paid less than their male colleagues, he believes the bill “complicates how employers hire and pay their workers and it opens the door for crippling lawsuits.”
“It’s just bad for business,” he said. “It’s a complete government overreach when it comes to those things.”
Howard noted the House recently passed another bill establishing a commission to look at equal pay in the state. “It’s sort of putting the cart before the horse,” he said.
Saab and Howard pointed to protections already in place at the federal level. Congress passed the Equal Pay Act, which prevents sex-based wage discrimination, in 1963; and in 2009, President Barack Obama chose the Lilly Ledbetter act, which extended the statute of limitations for wage discrimination complaints, as the first piece of legislation he decided to sign into law.
Beidle said Maryland’s legislation would provide even more protections for employees. For example, transgender employees are included under the bill, which prevents wage discrimination based on gender identity.
Beidle, who owns a Glen Burnie-based insurance agency, said she would have to change some of her own office’s policies under the act — for example, employees currently aren’t allowed to discuss compensation. But she said pushing back against wage disparities was more important to her.
“I have difficulty allowing discrimination against any group of people,” she said.
Simonaire said she decided to co-sponsor the bill to help be “a voice for those whose are silenced.”
“I strongly believe in making certain that legislation is business friendly, but never at the expense of equality,” she said. “There is never a place where discrimination is acceptable.”
This isn’t the first time Anne Arundel delegates have gotten personal on social media. Earlier this month, Saab and Howard re-posted a chart published by Gov. Larry Hogan’s campaign page, which listed the names of Anne Arundel Democrats among the supporters of a bill — sponsored by Beidle and Sen. Ed DeGrange, D-Millersville — that proposes to change the way state transportation officials rank projects vying for funding.
“These delegates voted to radically change how Maryland funds transportation projects and funnel a majority of funds to only two jurisdictions,” text above the chart read.
Saab said the post was more policy critique than personal attack.
Said Beidle: “After the attack on the transportation bill, I’ve had enough. … It’s been an interesting session, and I think the influence of the presidential election hasn’t helped any.”
