Mississippi set to become final state with equal pay law

By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS
Associated Press

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi will become the final state with a law requiring equal pay for equal work by women and men. Republican Gov. Tate Reeves signed House Bill 770 on Wednesday. It becomes law July 1. A 1963 federal law requires equal pay for equal work. Mississippi is the only state without its own law since Alabama set one in 2019. In Mississippi, a lawsuit must be filed within two years of when a worker “knew or should have known” about pay discrepancies. If the suit is successful, the employer would have to increase wages of the lower-paid worker rather than decrease wages of the higher-paid one.