Assemblyman Tom Alfano announced that the State Assembly passed a major piece of legislation aimed at not only providing pay equity for women in New York State, but safeguarding against any discrimination in the workplace. Assemblywoman Susan John (D-Rochester) sponsored the measure to protect women entitling it "The New York State Fair Pay Act."

Alfano, who is the Nassau County Assembly delegation leader, is the senior Long Island member on the Assembly Labor Committee, where the bill's consent was needed for a full Assembly vote. Assemblywoman John is chairman of the Labor Committee.

After lengthy debate, Alfano and John won the vote 19-3. "The vote in the Labor committee was significant because it sent a very strong message that the bill had widespread support," said Alfano.

The New York State Fair Pay Act ensures that any pay differentiation in the workplace is not based on a person's sex, race or national origin. "Discrimination in the workplace is unacceptable," said Alfano. "Currently, there are no laws that protect women who perform comparable work but are paid less. It's not right and has to stop."

Alfano said he has had constituents write to tell him about pay discrimination issues in the past. In many cases, a woman works the very same job as a man and gets paid less, Alfano said.

The bill protects women from pay discrimination, levels the playing field in the workplace and makes sure that no matter the color of your skin, national origin or sex, workers are compensated equally, according to Alfano.

The John-Alfano bill's passage coincided with National Pay Equity Day. According to the National Committee on Pay Equity, women make only 76 cents for every dollar a man makes. "Over one's career, a woman can lose significant income because of this discrimination. Quite frankly, it's outrageous," said Alfano.

The vote in the Assembly on the New York State Fair Pay Equity Act was 106-29.

Through successful budget negotiations, Assemblyman Thomas Alfano announced that increases in Consolidated Highway Improvement Program (CHIPS) funding will see its way to local communities in the 21st Assembly District.

Alfano announced that $1,479,810 of the funding will go to the Town of Hempstead.

"These monies are needed to make improvements in the infrastructure of our community," Councilman Ed Ambrosino noted. "Working together, on all levels of government, we can make significant strides in improving quality of life in our community."

Legislator John Ciotti added, "Improving our local streets is a priority for all local governments. I look forward to working to continue to make improvements in our local neighborhood streets."