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One to Keep An Eye On: SB 973 (California)

 

As with many employment and labor law related cases (and bills) being litigated around the country, there are always a few that stand out.  This is one to keep an eye on.


The California Legislature is actively working on a piece of legislation, Senate Bill 973, that would require private employers in the state with 100 or more employees to submit an annual report to the Department of Fair Employment and Housing with salary and wage information for specific job categories as well as provide a breakdown of the workers’ race, ethnicity, and sex.

Supporters of SB 973 argue that its passage is necessary to allow for state agencies to more efficiently identify patterns of “wage disparities and occupational segregation, and allow for targeted enforcement of California’s equal pay laws.”  On the other hand, critics of SB 973 suggest that requiring these annual reports is improper as simply relying upon W-2 earnings may identify a pay disparity when none actually exists.  The argument follows that over the course of a worker’s career, their pay rate could be increasingly influenced by their educational experience, previous jobs, job performance, and geographic location.  As a result, pay disparities could exist which had nothing to do with discrimination.

Should the legislation, as written, be passed, this mandate would go into effect on or before March 31, 2021.  As of this writing, the legislation appears to have sufficient support to make it to Governor Gavin Newsom’s desk for signature.  Stay tuned.

For a copy of the legislation:  https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201920200SB973

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