COSW Meeting Information - November 12, 2014 - Meeting Minutes

SPECIAL COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

4 – 5:30 pm

City Hall, Room 416

1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place

San Francisco, CA  94102

Members Present

President Nancy Kirshner-Rodriguez

Vice President Andrea Shorter

Commissioner Amy Ackerman

Commissioner Alicia Gamez

Commissioner Julie D. Soo

Excused

Commissioner Mary Jung

Staff Present

Executive Director Emily Murase, PhD

Associate Director Carol Sacco

Director of Women’s Policy Minouche Kandel

Executive Management Assistant Iris Wong

Policy Fellows Allison Ipsen & Elizabeth Newman

PAAWBAC Fellow Sarah-Maya De Guzman

 

1. CALL TO ORDER/ AGENDA CHANGES

Vice President Andrea Shorter called the meeting to order. She stated that the special meeting will be a review of the Equal Pay Legislation currently under consideration by the Board of Supervisors, and reminded Commissioners that no action items will be taken this evening.

 

Commissioner Ackerman expressed extreme disappointment that the agenda was set for discussion of the legislation and not for action, such that the Commission was prevented from taking action on the proposed legislation. Commission Gamez agreed. 

Action: To approve the meeting agenda as proposed.                                          m/s/c (Soo/Gamez/unanimous)

 

2. EQUAL PAY LEGISLATION

Dr. Murase introduced the item and a list of invited speakers to present their perspectives.

 

1. Hilary Ronen, Legislative Aide of Supervisor David Campos

Ms. Ronen provided background of the Equal Pay Legislation introduced by Supervisor Campos. The legislation was introduced following President Obama’s Federal Directive for the Department of Labor to collect equal pay data from federal contractors. The City and County of San Francisco does $5.2 Billion worth of business with vendors. Supervisor Campos’ office contacted Commission President Nancy Kirshner-Rodriguez, who suggested connecting with various federal agencies.

 

President Nancy Kirshner-Rodriguez arrived at 4:25pm.

 

 

 

2. Demetria Manuselis, US Department of Labor – Wage & Hour Division

Ms. Manuselis explained that her office conducts investigations to determine compliance with federal wage and hour laws. But, she stated, she is unable to answer specific questions about the proposed ordinance as her division only investigates allegations of wage and hour violations. The Office of Federal Contract Compliance gathers salary data.

 

3. Regina Dick-Endrizzi, Executive Director of Small Business Commission

Director Dick-Endrizzi thanked Supervisor Campos’s office for introducing the legislation and thanked the Commission for reviewing it. She stated that the Small Business Commission reviewed the legislation on October 27, 2014 and expressed support for the intent of the legislation, but recommended the Board allow time for the Human Rights Commission and Commission on the Status of Women to review it, since these two agencies are expected to participate in the Equal Pay Advisory Board.

 

She stated concerns regarding the timeline outlined in the legislation that may affect a meaningful and effective implementation of the proposed ordinance.

 

4. Bianca Polovina, Investigator for Anti-Discrimination Division of Human Rights Commission

Ms. Polovina presented three main challenges of the proposed ordinance.

1. Categorization of sex and race – In the legislation, sex is classified as “gender,” which does not include members of the LGBTQ community. Employees may also not want to disclose information regarding their sex. Similarly, data collection of an employee’s race is not straightforward. There is currently no consistent system to collect bi-racial or multi-racial employees. Employers may not have adequate resources to categorize their employees appropriately, which may result in the exclusion of some races and incomplete data.
2. Information gathering by employers can be very challenging.
3. Associated costs and implementation – The professional and administrative staff of the Human Rights Commission are tasked to review the equal pay reports. Currently, the agency has very limited staffing, and would require new staff and an increased budget. To secure approval of these can be a long process.

 

5. Ruth Silver Taube, Co-Founder, Bay Area Equal Pay Collaborative

Ms. Taube stated that EEO mandates that employers of 100 or more employees are required to complete the form EEO-1. Albuquerque, New Mexico, recently passed a similar ordinance, and San Francisco has an opportunity learn from its experiences to make the local ordinance even more effective.

 

6. Darolyn Davis, CEO & President of Davis Public Relations

Ms. Davis stated that she supports equal pay, but is concerned with the manner of achieving this goal. She has reservations about the proposed legislation because there has not been enough time for small business owners to participate. She recognized that the Human Rights Commission is understaffed and under-sourced. Companies without an in-house human resources agency would be required to hire a private attorney to complete the report, which can be very costly. She urged that more time be taken to fully consider the legislation.

 

Ms. Davis recommended that the study be conducted first, before finalizing new requirements. Many organizations would also appreciate a chance to provide insights, such as the African American Chamber of Commerce.

 

7. Juliana Choy Sommer, President of Asian American Contractor Association

As President of the Asian American Contractors Association, and President of Priority Architectural Graphics, a local business enterprise that regularly does business with the City, Ms. Sommers stated that rather than shape behavior via punishment, business owners respond better with incentives. She emphasized the complexities of conducting business in San Francisco as a result of existing requirements, and that this new requirement would add to that complexity. She stated that she also would have appreciated being outreached to in order to provide feedback on the legislation, which has a broad impact.

 

3. GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT

 

1. Debbi Lerman from San Francisco Human Services Network expressed support for the legislation.

 

2. Rachael Langston from Legal Aid Society – Employment Law Center expressed support for the legislation. She stated that business owners should know all the legal requirements before starting a business.

 

3. Roberta Guise, Public Policy Co-Chair of American Association of University Women (AAUW) expressed support for the legislation. She stated that the proposed legislation is a shell that the advisory board would fill in, and hopes it will move forward.

 

4. Conny Ford, Program Director of San Francisco Labor Council, expressed support for the legislation. She stated that the legislation only affects businesses with 500 or more employees.

 

5. Cynthia Crews expressed support for the legislation. She stated that there is no reason to delay the approval of the legislation.

 

6. Shanell Williams, Paoua Robles, Jada Green, Ardelia Lewis, Jennifer Salcedo, and Melanie Padilia from the Center for Young Women’s Development recounted their own experience with lack of equal pay, and expressed support for the legislation.

 

7. Hene Kelly expressed support for the legislation. She stated that she wants young women to have equality, and that the legislation is just to gather data.

 

8. Nancy Rock urged that additional outreach be conducted to ensure the best possible results.

 

9. Myrna Melgar from Jamestown Community Center expressed support for the legislation. She stated that she looks forward to a system that will guide business owners like herself towards equal pay.

 

10. Frank Landen, Human Resources Manager at Huckleberry Youth Programs, urged additional time to ensure the best possible legislation.

 

11. Alysabeth Alexander from SEIU 1021 recounted her own experience with lack of equal pay compared to her male counterparts, and stated that serious wage discrimination occurs because employers lack comprehensive mechanism.

 

12. Tami Bryant from SEIU 1021 expressed support for the legislation, stating that it is just a study.

 

Commissioners thanked both the invited and public speakers for their input and recommendations.

 

Commissioner Ackerman stated that the one minute allotted for Commissioners’ comments is insufficient for her to express her opinion on the legislation.  She recognized that the testimonies urged for more outreach, the timeline may need adjusting, and that the Human Rights Commission would need to have additional staffing and budget to implement the program.

 

Commissioner Gamez recognized the challenges of data collection addressed by the speakers, but the consumers have a right to receive information they deem necessary. She expressed support for the legislation.

 

President Kirshner-Rodriguez agreed with Commissioner Ackerman and stated the necessity of passing a comprehensive legislation from the beginning.

 

Commissioner Soo urged that the advisory board conduct the equal pay study first.

 

Vice President Shorter stated that the Commission has worked on equal pay for several years, but she has serious reservations about the currently proposed legislation.

 

Dr. Murase stated she will draft a formal letter to the Board of Supervisors based on tonight’s meeting. The proposed legislation will be considered by the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, November 25, 2014.

 

4. ADJOURNMENT

Action: To adjourn the meeting.                                                                      m/s/c (Ackerman/Soo/unanimous)

 

Meeting was adjourned at 6 pm.