Mississippi is the only state without a law requiring equal pay for equal work by women and men, after Alabama enacted one in 2019.
Efforts have fallen short in Mississippi in recent years, but Senate Labor Committee Chairman John Hohrn, a Democrat from Jackson, promises to make another push for equal pay legislation in 2022.
Opponents have said there’s no need for a Mississippi law because of two federal laws — the Equal Pay Act of 1963 signed by President John F. Kennedy and the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 signed by President Barack Obama. Some also say they don’t want the state to put new regulations on businesses.