On September 27, 2022, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 1162, which amended California  Labor Code section 432.2 regarding pay transparency to require employers provide pay scales in job postings and to applicants and current employees.  With these changes set to take effect on January 1, 2023, the Department of Industrial Relations has just issued some Frequently Asked Questions.

While many questions remain unanswered, here are several of the new FAQs, which were added to already-existing FAQs related to California’s Equal Pay Act, and begin at number 27 within the above link:

• Is an employer required to provide the pay scale for an open position to an applicant for that position? Employers must provide the pay scale for a position to any applicant applying for employment (the post-interview language is no longer applicable);
• Is an employer required to include the pay scale on job postings? As of January 1, 2023, an employer with 15 or more employees must include the pay scale for a position in any job posting. If an employer with 15 or more employees engages a third party to announce, post, publish, or otherwise make known a job posting it must provide the pay scale to the third party and the third party must include it within the job posting. All job postings that may ever be filled in California, either in-person or remotely, must include the pay scale;
• Who is counted as an employee to determine whether an employer has 15 or more employees?  The Labor Commissioner interprets this requirement consistent with how it counts employees for the purpose of 2022 COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave and minimum wage rates, as detailed in previously issued FAQs on the topic. At least one of the employees must be currently located in California.
• How is “pay scale” defined? Section 432.3, as amended, defines “pay scale” to mean the salary or hourly wage range the employer reasonably expects to pay for a position. An employer who intends to pay a set hourly amount or a set piece rate amount, and not a pay range, may provide that set hourly rate or set piece rate.

For more, see the link above.

If you have questions about how these new laws will affect your business or advice about how to implement these new requirements, please contact us.

• Katie M. McCray (kmccray@wilsonturnerkosmo.com)
• Emily J. Fox (efox@wilsonturnerkosmo.com)

Wilson Turner Kosmo’s Special Alerts are intended to update our valued clients on significant employment law developments as they occur. This should not be considered legal advice.