On January 11, 2023, The California Labor Commissioner’s Office released new Frequently Asked Questions (“FAQs”) clarifying the California Equal Pay Act’s pay scale transparency requirements that became effective January 1, 2023. See our prior post on the new pay transparency law here.
The most relevant FAQs for employers are listed below.
- The pay transparency law 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.
- Bonuses, tips, or other benefits do not need to be included in the pay scale. Any compensation or tangible benefits provided in addition to a salary or hourly wage are not required to be posted, but may be included, at the employer’s choice, to make recruitment efforts more competitive. Employers are cautioned that other forms of compensation may be considered for equal pay purposes, but a legally compliant job posting only requires the “salary or hourly wage range that the employer reasonably expects to pay for the position.”
- The pay scale must include piece rate or commission wages. If the position’s hourly or salary wage is based on a piece rate or commission, then the piece rate or commission range the employer reasonably expects to pay for the position must be included in the job posting.
- Employers may not link to the salary range in an electronic posting or include a QR code in a paper posting that will take an applicant to the salary information. The pay scale shall be included within the posting
