Governor McAuliffe has unveiled a series of legislative proposals that he says would make Virginia more welcoming to businesses. The governor says his agenda would make the Commonwealth more inviting by guaranteeing equal treatment to ALL individuals under the law.
McAuliffe says all state laws should reflect recent court authorization of same-sex marriage by changing references from “man and woman” or “husband and wife” to “spouse.”
“We needed to make sure that we are open and welcoming and that we are not putting up walls around this great Commonwealth of ours.”
He also wants to raise the penalty for employers who don’t give equal pay to women.
“I am proposing today that in order to help close the gender pay gap that employees be able to recover three times their lost wages when an employer violates equal pay laws.”
His plan would also allow leave from work for domestic abuse victims who seek services or who are relocating.
McAuliffe is also directing state higher education officials to help colleges and universities update their sexual misconduct policies. He is proposing that all institutions document on a student’s academic transcript any dismissal from a school for a violation of the sexual misconduct policy or code of conduct.
