California has long been a national leader in advancing pay equity and wage transparency. From banning salary history inquiries to requiring public pay scale disclosures, the state continues to push employers toward greater accountability. This fall, Governor Gavin Newsom signed two new bills into law, Senate Bill 642 and Senate Bill 464, that expand existing pay transparency and pay data reporting requirements. Together, the bills tighten employer obligations and reinforce the state’s commitment to eliminating pay disparities across gender, race, and ethnicity.
California’s approach to pay equity is evolving. With that comes new compliance challenges for employers.
California’s pay transparency law already requires employers with 15 or more employees to include pay scales in job postings and to provide pay ranges upon request to current employees and applicants. Senate Bill 642, effective January 1, 2026, builds on that foundation by clarifying definitions, extending enforcement timeframes, and aligning California’s Equal Pay Act with evolving standards of gender inclusivity and compensation fairness.
The amended law defines “pay scale” as a good faith estimate of the salary or hourly wage range that the employer reasonably expects to pay for the position upon hire. The inclusion of “upon hire” narrows the range employers may post, requiring that advertised pay scales reflect realistic...
"I think that there is a more nefarious strategy": Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, former director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, on the agency changing its websit...