Inquirer Editorial: Just say no to Comcast

Mayor Kenney shouldn't cave to media giant Comcast's dire yet unspecified warnings of litigation if he doesn't weaken a pay equity bill.

City Council rightly passed the bill with a 16-0 vote in December to help close the 21 percent pay gap between men and women, putting the city in the forefront of the equity movement.

The bill prohibits companies from asking job applicants their pay histories, a technique which sets a floor in salary negotiations during hiring and has the effect of perpetuating the pay gap.

Because women often start careers at lower salaries than men for comparable jobs, they are stuck on a lower rung of the pay ladder. Employees should be compensated based on the value of their skills, not stuck in a pay trap because a discriminating employer low balled them in the past.

The salary history disclosure ban is part of a new national effort aimed at ending decades of pay discrimination. The Massachusetts legislature recently passed a similar bill, and legislation is pending in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York City, and Washington, D.C., as well as Congress.

But in Philadelphia, the movement is meeting resistance that wasn't nearly as vigorous when the bill moved through Council last year. Comcast objected privately, but didn't offer public testimony.

Comcast should have made its objections public during the legislative process, perhaps asking to make disclosure of pay histories voluntary. But that window has closed.

Now it is pressuring Kenney. It sent a legal memo to City Hall to get the mayor to back off on his prior support of the bill. It argued that the bill infringed on an employer's First Amendment rights to question prospective employees and that the city would be liable for hefty legal bills to defend it. Comcast has put Kenney in the position of vetoing a bill and maybe being overridden by Council. Kenney has until Jan. 26 to sign the bill or let it become law without his signature.

Pay equity also is meeting opposition in New Jersey. The Legislature fine tuned the state's pay discrimination ban but Gov. Christie vetoed it last year. The Legislature recently postponed an override of that veto and it is unknown if it will come up again.

In Philadelphia, Councilman Bill Greenlee's resolve to stick by his bill is heartening. Kenney is right to have city lawyers vet the bill and if he and Greenlee believe that there are suggestions to make the bill stronger, they should consider them. But they should not relent.

This bill not only benefits women but entire families. According to the Census, women are the primary wage earners in about 40 percent of households. When they're paid less, their children suffer. Lower pay now leads to lower Social Security checks in the future. The pay gap is even wider for African American and Hispanic women.

In these changing times, progressive places like Philadelphia and New Jersey are even more essential beacons of fairness.

Philadelphia's mayor and New Jersey's Legislature have a chance right now to put a dent in discrimination and they should take it.