California Senate Bill 1162 (SB 1162), recently signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsome, could potentially have some unintended consequences for Washington State employers.
SB 1162, among many things, requires employers who have 15 or more employees to post salary ranges on job advertisements or be subject to some hefty fines from the California Civil Rights Department (CRD). The fines can be as high as $10,000 per violation for an employer that fails to add salary ranges to job advertisements.
In Washington State, Senate Bill 5761 (SB 5761) passed earlier this year with similar provisions for Washington employers.
However, SB 1162 is vague in its application and definitions of the definition of employers and employees. This could have a chilling effect on all employers that don’t have a physical presence in California, being subject to the California law because they have employees physically based in California. Additionally, the law is not clear if job applicants from California have the same potential claims against Washington employers, advertising jobs in Washington, that they apply for.
Similar to the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), which can apply to out of state companies, SB 1162 could be similarly applied. A resident from California could file a claim against an out of state employer for not including a salary range on a job advertised on one of the popular national job sites.
If an applicant is successful applying for a Washington based job, while...
South Africa’s Ambassador to the United States, Roelf Meyer, has rejected claims of a so-called “white genocide”, describing the narrative as false and driven by a small group seeking to influence...