Posted by Keturah Hetrick on June 15, 2020
As protests continue over police brutality toward black Americans, pay disparities between white and black congressional staffers are a 20-year high.
Based on the latest salary records, the average white staffer will make $55,348 this year, according to LegiStorm data - 9.4 percent more than the average black staffer, who will make $50,694. That's the highest disparity since at least the year 2000, when LegiStorm's salary data begins.
Disparities are higher in the Senate than the House, with the upper chamber on track to pay white staffers 19.3 percent more than black staffers, or $59,519 versus $49,876. In the House, white staffers will make 3.8 percent more this year, a difference of $54,148 versus $52,142.
This analysis did not look at whether there are differences in pay based on the same job held by black and white staffers. That is, the differences may have occurred because white staffers have, on average, more senior jobs.
Some people and organizations who "caught our eye" last week:
