On the Issues

Jobs & The Economy

Maryland Democrats fight every day for families working hard to make ends meet. From equal pay for equal work to social security for all workers and increasing wages for Maryland families, our policies reflect the belief that everyone deserves a fair shot in America.

Equal Pay for Equal Work

Women make an average of 79 cents on the dollar for doing the same work as men. The wage gap is even greater for women of color.

Among women who hold full-time, year-round jobs in the United States, African-American women are paid, on average, 60 cents while Latina are paid just 55 cents for every dollar paid to a man. While Asian women earn 84 cents for every dollar paid to men, the rate is even lower for Native Indian and Alaskan Native women, earning just 65 percent of what a man earns.

At the current pace, it will take 45 years for women to achieve pay equity. In Maryland in 2014, a woman holding a full time job was paid an average of $49,000, while a man holding a full time job was paid an average of $57,000.

Democrats are pushing to:

  • Strengthen Maryland’s equal pay laws by expanding them to all employers.
  • Ensure businesses cannot penalize employees for discussing salaries.
  • Broaden standards to determine whether unlawful compensation discrimination exists, and allowing the Attorney General to enforce pay discrimination claims.

 

Retirement Security

Employer‐sponsored retirement plans are on the decline, leaving many aging Americans with Social Security as their sole means of support. An estimated 1 million Marylanders lack adequate retirement savings. More than one‐third of Marylanders within ten years of retirement age have saved less than $10,000.

The retirement savings crunch is affecting young people, too. Just 43% of millennials without an employer-sponsored retirement plan say they’re saving money consistently.

When Republicans proposed a 2% cut to state employees’ salaries, Democratic leaders fought back and beat the proposal. In 2015, General Assembly Democrats fully funded the state’s pension contribution and required yearly overpayments of $75 million. This year, General Assembly Democrats championed a proposal to create incentives for employers to expand access to retirement savings plans to all employees.

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