Wasn't this issue addressed decades ago in San Jose as comparative worth?
We need fewer ordinances not more. Just enforce what already exists. We do not need another level of expensive government bureaucracy.

If paragraph #3 is accurate, Cindy and Don won't mind if a contractor is "cheap" as long as the contractor treats everyone equally cheap. The true result of Marksist socialism is everyone is equally and equallypoor.

What a stupid idea. Somehow these bureaucrats know better than ordinary people what labor should
Be valued at

That's a great concept, but ...

Let's mix together

* hard to define and impossible to objectively measure "equal skills"
* government bureaucrats who have never held a real job let alone run a business
* activists long on attitude and short actual useful skills

and see how that turns out.

Sounds like a great idea to me. There's enough data out there to show that people are notoriously biased when hiring. We are all more inclined to hire people like ourselves without even realizing it.

Studies that send out the same resume, only changing the name at the top from man to women show that men are more likely to get a call back for the initial interview than women, even with the exact same resume. Similar studies have been done changing white-sounding names to black or Hispanic sounding names.

We should all be aware or our inclination towards biases and try to correct for them. As a women working it tech, I tell you I see it everyday. I "just deal with it" but I shouldn't have to.

I am a Black Man working in tech and I think this is yet another way that the government gets involved in things where it has not business or expertise. If I think I am not being paid what I am worth, guess what, I go get another job!

I am fairly sure that this new ordinance will not take factors into account such as experience, education, certifications, years with the company, and other factors that can make a difference. It is yet another way to pit people against each other while the government grabs yet more power for itself.

Why doesn't Santa Clara County merely create an ordinance declaring that they are now in charge of all companies located within it's borders and will be making all business decisions going forward? What real decisions can companies make without worrying about running afoul of some ordinance? They are told who to hire, how much they have to pay them, what kind of work they can do, how their building will be built, what type of materials to use, how many trees they have to have, etc!

With all these regulations and the ever present threat of lawsuits based on feel-good ordinances, it's no wonder that the cost of living here is so high. Businesses have to spend extra money to comply with all the regulations and have money on hand to fight any lawsuits, which means those costs eventually get passed on to the consumers.

Jim Neal
Old Mountain View

"Why doesn't Santa Clara County merely create an ordinance declaring that they are now in charge of all companies located within it's borders and will be making all business decisions going forward? What real decisions can companies make without worrying about running afoul of some ordinance? They are told who to hire, how much they have to pay them, what kind of work they can do, how their building will be built, what type of materials to use, how many trees they have to have, etc!"

Right, because anarchy works out sooooooooo well for society.

Seen Somalia lately?

I support "equal pay for equal work" as long as two important criteria are met: 1. The work being compared must truly be equal among all affected employees. The job descriptions and the duties performed by workers must be identical. Note that this does NOT cover "equal pay for equivalent work", which is far more subjective and subject to Socialistic and political manipulation. 2. The law must insist that governments, schools, and private contractors also consider performance review evaluations when setting pay levels, even for "equal pay for equal work". Governments, schools, and unions contractors are notorious for basing pay levels upon seniority, when in fact they should be based upon work performance --- the quality of work that any individual worker is doing. In short, pay superior workers more even if they have less seniority than "equal workers" just marking time to retirement.

@JimNeal

Nobody is suggesting anarchy.

What IS being suggested is allowing the people who actually know what they are doing determine what the value of a particular employee is, rather than having a politician do it.

The system being proposed is far more like the former USSR, and we all know how well that turned out.

"The ordinance would make sure that any company that has a contract with the county gives equal pay to its workers regardless of their gender or ethnicity. "

What a horrible thought! You mean that our tax money won't be used to perpetuate both sexism and racism?!?!?!? Perish the thought! What is 'merica without exploiting our women and non-whites?

That's it! I say that all of my fellow right-wingers vote with our feet and move out of state! West Virginia, hills of Kentucky, most of Texas would welcome us with OPEN ARMS! Maybe then Mountain View would wake up and see how awful they have made their city for us.

"The system being proposed is far more like the former USSR, and we all know how well that turned out."

1) Take some time and LEARN what the Soviet system was like.

2) Make sure to get a properly fitting dunce cap, for saying something that completely clueless.

Although I am a Black man, I have to admit that I have never been to Somalia. That being said, you also will not find the word "anarchy" in anything that I have recommended to date. To put it in more plain language, I believe that there is over-regulation in many area,s and the costs of compliance with the over-regulation are what add significant costs to living and running a business in this area.

To demonstrate how simplistic and erroneous calculating equal pay claims can be, the Washington Times reported that Hillary Clinton paid female staffers 72 cents for every dollar that male staffers made ( Web Link ); however if you look at what factcheck.org had to say ( Web Link ), then you will see that the calculation is anything but simple since it can be based on several different factors.

Factcheck.org also mentioned that the 77 cents figure often mentioned by Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, which is based on Census Bureau numbers is also not a reliable measure.

Based on these factors, this is why I believe that enacting such an ordinance would be as foolhardy as it is unnecessary. There are already plenty of laws and ordinances already on the books against discrimination. We also supposedly live in one of the most progressive areas in the most progressive State in the Union, so why would this be a problem that requires such immediate and drastic action?


Jim Neal
Old Mountain View