The California Equal Pay Act prohibits an employer from paying its employees less than that of the opposite sex for equal work. Equal Pay Act mandates were strengthened with the signing of the California Fair Pay Act (SB 1162) which, starting January 1, 2023, will require employers to disclose additional pay data, provide pay ranges for posted positions and increase pay transparency for applicants and employees. As discussed here, the statute also extends record retention requirements for wage and other employment related records from two to three years.
The newly released FAQs provide clarification as to which employers are subject to pay disclosure requirements, content requirements for mandatory disclosures and how the statute applies to remote postings.
Employers should begin company-wide revisions to all job descriptions to include pay scale information. This will assure all job postings include the required pay information and will make it easier to provide pay information when requested by current employees. Record retention policies should also be revised to ensure pay transparency records are maintained in accordance with new statutory requirements.