California’s May 13 Pay Data Reporting Deadline is Fast Approaching

It’s the final countdown! By Wednesday, May 13, 2026, certain California employers must submit their annual pay data reports to the California Civil Rights Department (CRD).

Every year, private employers with at least 100 employees and/or at least 100 workers hired through labor contractors must submit annual reports on pay, demographic and other workforce data. For the report, employers select a snapshot period, which is a single pay period between October 1 and December 31 of the reporting year. So, for this report, employers must choose a date between October 1, 2025, and December 31, 2025.

If the CRD has not received an employer’s required report by May 13, it may seek a court order requiring the employer to comply with California’s pay data reporting requirements. The CRD can recover the costs associated with seeking the order for compliance. These penalties can also be assessed against a labor contractor who has failed to provide the required pay data to a client employer in a timely fashion.

Employers must submit their reports through the CRD’s pay data portal — no email or hard copy reports will be accepted. The CRD’s employer handbook provides instructions for submitting and certifying annual reports, including the types of data requested and relevant deadlines. Excel and CSV template instructions are available and provide step-by-step guidance for employers to complete their Payroll Employee Reports and/or Labor Contractor Employee Reports, including data entry instructions, field (i.e., column) descriptions, code values and definitions, and field types.

Finally, as previously reported, California passed a new law that will increase the number of job categories from 10 to 23, but this change doesn’t take effect until 2027. For this year’s report, job categories remain at 10.

Katie Culliton, Senior Editor, CalChamber

CalChamber members can read more about California Pay Data requirements in EEO Reporting Requirements in the HR Library. Not a member? Learn about the benefits of membership.