In 2009, Wisconsin enacted a law that would help victims of sex discrimination win bigger awards. Such victims already could file their cases with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, in federal court, or with the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development. But lawmakers thought that once an accuser had won before an administrative-law judge — the final step of the process that starts with the Department of Workforce Development — she should then be allowed to file her case in a Wisconsin circuit court. Circuit courts were directed to award compensatory and punitive damages of up to $300,000 for large employers, whereas administrative-law judges may only make the accuser “whole” by awarding back pay, attorney’s fees, etc.
That law was called the “Equal Pay Enforcement Act,” and Wisconsin governor Scott Walker signed its repeal on Thursday.
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But simply put, there is no great sex-discrimination problem in Wisconsin workplaces that is not being addressed by federal law and preexisting state laws.
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Between the EEOC, the federal courts, and the Department of Workforce Development, workers in Wisconsin who face sex discrimination have plenty of options for being made whole. There is no reason to add state circuit courts to the mix and hand them the authority to award massive punitive damages. The Wisconsin legislature was wrong to do so in 2009, and Governor Walker was correct to repeal the law last week.