California Pay Equity

Sex, race, ethnicity, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, reproductive health decision making, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, sexual orientation, or veteran or military status

"An employer shall not pay any of its employees at wage rates less than the rates paid to employees of another sex, race, or ethnicity for substantially similar work, when viewed as a composite of skill, effort, and responsibility, and performed under similar working conditions. CA Lab. Code § 1197.5(b) & (a)). This provision applies to all public and private employers. "
It is illegal for an employer to discriminate against a person in compensation “because of [the person’s] race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, reproductive health decisionmaking, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, sexual orientation, or veteran or military status.” This provision applies to those “regularly employing five or more persons, or any person acting as an agent of an employer, directly or indirectly, the state or any political or civil subdivision of the state, and cities[,]” with exceptions.

Seniority system
Merit system
System which measures earnings by quantity or quality of production
Any bona fide factor other than sex, race, or ethnicity such as education, training, or experience. Employer must demonstrate that the factor is not based on a sex, race, or ethnicity-based differential in compensation, is job related to position in question, and is consistent with a business necessity.

"An employer shall not, orally or in writing, personally or through an agent, seek salary history information including compensation and benefits, about an applicant for employment.” This does not apply to salary history information disclosable to the public through a public records request. San Francisco precludes employers from asking applicants about current or past salaries. Employers may not disclose a current or former employees’ salary history without the employees’ consent unless the information is already publicly available.
San Francisco precludes employers from asking applicants about current or past salaries. Employers may not disclose a current or former employees’ salary history without the employees’ consent unless the information is already publicly available.

An employer cannot discharge, discriminate, or retaliate against any employee by reason of any action taken by the employee to invoke or assist in any manner the enforcement of this law (inquiring into pay equity, disclosing their wages, or aiding another employee in doing so). It is unlawful for an employer to retaliate or otherwise discriminate against an employee who has taken any action to exercise his or her rights under the law or who has assisted in any manner to enforce the law.
If an employer takes an adverse action against an employee within 90 days after the employee has engaged in protected activity, there is a rebuttable presumption of retaliation.
It is illegal for any employer ”to discharge, expel, or otherwise discriminate against any person because the person has opposed any practices forbidden under this part or because the person has filed a complaint, testified, or assisted in any proceeding under [§ 12940].”

Employers with 15 or more employees must include the pay scale for a position in any job posting if the position may ever be filled in California either in-person or remotely.
If an employer uses a third party to “announce, post, publish, or otherwise make known a job posting,” employer must provide the pay scale to the third party and it must include the pay scale on the job posting;
Not only can applicants request the pay scale for the position that they are applying for, even if employers are not obligated to include the pay scale in the job posting, current employees can also make a reasonable request to employers of all sizes to obtain the pay scale for the position that they are currently employed in.
A “pay scale” is defined as the salary or hourly wage range that the employer “reasonably expects” to pay for the position
Employers must maintain records of job titles and wage rate history for each employee for the duration of their employment plus three years after the end of employment. The Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE) can inspect these records to identify patterns of wage discrepancy.
Remote employees: Employers must disclose salary information in job postings for jobs that can be done remotely.

Employer cannot prohibit an employee from disclosing the employee's own wages, discussing the wages of others, inquiring about another employee's wages, or aiding or encouraging any other employee to exercise his or her rights under California Fair Pay Act, Cal. Labor Code § 1197.5.

All private employers of 100 or more employees, , whether hired through a labor contractor or not, must submit specific pay data on or before the second Wednesday of each month of May, covering the prior calendar year, referred to as “Reporting Year.” The report must include the number of employees by race, ethnicity, and sex for 10 job categories based on a “snapshot” that counts all employees in each job category by race, ethnicity, and sex, employed during a single pay period of your choice between October 1 and December 31 of the Reporting Year.
Employers must also report whether employees worked remotely during the snapshot period. A remote worker is defined as “a payroll or labor contractor employee who is entirely remote, teleworking, or home-based, and has no expectation to regularly report in person to a physical establishment to perform work duties.” It does not include employees who work “hybrid” schedules (that is, some on-site work, and some remote work).
San Diego – city contractors: The city’s Equal Pay Ordinance requires employers that have contracts with the city to certify in writing that they will comply with the California Equal Pay Act and Fair Pay Act for the duration of the contract (San Diego Muni. Code § 22.4803 (Ch. 2, Art. 2, Div. 48)). Contractors must post a notice in a conspicuous location in the workplace or jobsite informing employees of their rights.

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