A bill is currently sitting on the desk of Gov. Tate Reeves (R) that would make his state, Mississippi, the 50th and final one to adopt a law mandating equal pay for men and women.
However, not all women are celebrating. Women's rights advocates say the Mississippi law is watered down to the point of absurdity—for example, it allows employers to pay women less based on their prior salary or their "negotiating tactics."
On today's weekly legal news podcast, On The Merits, we hear from Andrea Johnson, director of state policy at the National Women's Law Center, about where the equal pay movement stands, both in the courts and state legislatures.
She tells Bloomberg Law correspondent Jennifer Kay that lawmakers are acting out of unfounded fears that employers will be deluged with compensation-related lawsuits. In reality, Johnson says, bringing and winning a pay discrimination suit is very difficult, even in states with robust equal pay laws.

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