The Mississippi state legislature passed an equal pay bill Wednesday — but the bill could actually make it harder for women to get paid equally.

Why it matters: Mississippi was the only state in the country without an equal pay law, or a law prohibiting employers from paying workers differently based on sex. But the Mississippi Equal Pay for Equal Work Act, which is headed for the governor's desk, explicitly allows for exceptions.

• Employers can defend paying workers less by pointing to salary history, gaps in their work history or their negotiation tactics or lack of — factors that often reinforce women's lower pay.

The big picture: Indeed, 16 states forbid employers from even asking for an applicant's salary history because research has shown that it reinforces pay inequity even when women switch employers.

• In addition, if a woman files a claim under this new law she would then be blocked from bringing a case under the stronger federal equal pay law.

Meanwhile: The bill makes no mention of race, something advocates fought for to protect Black women in the state from being paid less than their white female colleagues.

• At least nine states specifically prohibit employers from paying workers less based on race, including Alabama, New Jersey and California.
• The bill's author, state senator Angela Cockerham (I) said she modeled the legislation on the federal equal pay law, which does not include race.
• "The bill is to uplift women," she said, adding that she didn't want to...

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