by James W. Ward, J.D.; Employment Law Subject Matter Expert/Legal Writer and Editor, CalChamber
California has had equal pay laws on the books for decades, beginning when the Equal Pay Act went into effect in 1949.
In recent years, however, the state has focused greater attention on pay equity issues, passing the Fair Pay Act in 2016, which bolstered Equal Pay Act protections, and enacting a pay data reporting law in 2021 that requires large employers with 100 or more employees to report specific pay and demographic information to the California Civil Rights Department (CRD) each year in an effort to reduce unlawful pay disparities.
California’s requirements were similar to pay data reporting required by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). In fact, when the law first took effect, covered employers were allowed to submit their federal EEO-1 report to CRD to satisfy their state requirements. This year, however, that’s not the case.
Signed in September 2022 and effective this year, SB 1162 revised and expanded the state’s pay data reporting requirements.
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