WBA ANNOUNCES 2015 LEGISLATIVE AGENDA

Women’s Bar Association of Massachusetts

27 School Street, Suite 500, Boston, MA  02108

Ph: 617.973.6666    Fax: 617.973.6663   www.womensbar.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WBA ANNOUNCES 2015 LEGISLATIVE AGENDA

Legislators and the Massachusetts Attorney General, Treasurer and Auditor

 Join WBA at Annual Legislative Breakfast

BOSTON, MA – February 4, 2015 – Today the Women’s Bar Association of Massachusetts (WBA) shared its 2015 Legislative Agenda with legislators at the Massachusetts State House at the organization’s Legislative Breakfast. This annual event provides the organization the opportunity to share the group’s priorities with Massachusetts legislators as well as to meet and congratulate newly elected legislators.

WBA President Kara DelTufo provided opening remarks and acknowledged newly elected and other attending legislators. Co-Chairs of the WBA Legislative Policy Committee, Nicole Forbes and Katy Ward, followed by introducing the speakers to discuss their support for the WBA priorities for 2015:

• Equal Pay: Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey and Massachusetts Treasurer Deborah Goldberg spoke about pay equity as an economic issue.  Senator Patricia Jehlen and Representative Jay Livingstone then spoke about their bill SD 1423/HD 2802, An Act to Establish Pay Equity. The bill will help bridge the wage gap by clarifying the current equal pay for comparable work law, permitting employees to discuss their salaries with other employees, and promoting fairness in hiring practices by imposing requirements on employers relative to the use of salary history and the use of wage information in job advertisements. The WBA is one of the founding members of the new Equal Pay Coalition advocating for the bill.

• Female Genital Mutilation (FGM): Jessica Cruzatti-Flavius,Public Interest Law Fellow at the University of Massachusetts School of Law,and Abdirahman Yusuf, Executive Director at the Somali Development Center, spoke about the practice and the need for An Act Establishing Civil and Criminal Penalties for Female Genital Mutilation, sponsored by Senator William Brownsberger and Representative Sarah Peake.  The bill would specifically outlaw the procedure. Even though there is a federal law prohibiting FGM, only 23 states currently have FGM laws in place. Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker issued a proclamation designating February 1-7 as Female Genital Mutilation Awareness Week.

• Civil Legal Aid Funding (Budget Line Item 0321-1600): J.D. Smeallie, Partner at Holland & Knight LLP and Chair of the Boston Bar Association Statewide Task Force to Expand Civil Legal Aid in Massachusetts, spoke about the Task Force’s recent report that found that investing in civil legal aid would produce savings and other benefits to the state and its people. The WBA joined advocates at the recent Equal Justice Coalition Walk to the Hill for Civil Legal Aid and urged legislators to invest $25 million in funding for civil legal aid in the fiscal year 2016 Massachusetts state budget.            

“We thank Attorney General Maura Healey, Treasurer Deborah Goldberg, Auditor Suzanne Bump, legislators and aides that attended the event today. The WBA is especially proud to have filed two new bills this session relative to pay equity and female genital mutilation. We look forward to working with legislators on these and other important social and legal issues affecting women and their families in the state,” stated WBA President Kara DelTufo.

“Pay equity is more than just a matter of basic workplace fairness and dignity for women. It’s a matter of security—sometimes even survival—for families. I look forward to working on this critical issue and to making equal pay for equal work a reality,” stated Attorney General Maura Healey.

“Wage equality is not a partisan issue, nor solely a women’s issue. It is a family issue, and it affects the economic health and well-being of our entire state,” said Treasurer Deborah Goldberg. “By breaking down cultural and institutionalized barriers, we will lead on wage equality and empower both employers and employees.”

The WBA’s Legislative Policy Committee is the legislative arm of the Women’s Bar Association. Its dedicated members track the development of priority items, identify new issues that require the WBA’s support, and share information about the legislative process with attorneys across the state.

About the Women’s Bar Association of Massachusetts

Founded in 1978 by a group of activist women lawyers, the Women’s Bar Association boasts a large membership of accomplished women lawyers, judges, policy makers, and law students across Massachusetts.  The WBA is committed to the full and equal participation of women in the legal profession and in a just society. The WBA works to achieve this mission through committees and taskforces, and by developing and promoting a legislative agenda to address society’s most critical social and legal issues.  Other WBA activities include drafting amicus briefs, studying employment issues affecting women, encouraging women to enter the judiciary, recognizing the achievement of women in the law, and providing pro bono services to women in need through its sister organization, the Women’s Bar Foundation.  For more information, visit
www.womensbar.org.