CALIFORNIA: California boasts one of the nation’s toughest laws aimed at closing the salary gap between men and women. State lawmakers gave final approval this week to the California Fair Pay Act (FPA), which says women must be paid the same as their male colleagues for “substantially similar work.” It leaves limited exceptions, such as rewarding more extensive training, education or experience.
Gov. Jerry Brown is expected to sign the bill into law.“It’s not only the strongest state law in the country. It’s stronger than federal law,” said Noreen Farrell, executive director of Equal Rights Advocates, a women’s rights organization that lobbied for the bill. The legislation, which applies to all businesses, beefs up California’s existing anti-discrimination law by requiring employers show that a pay difference between male and female workers is based on a legitimate factor, such as seniority or a merit-based system.
Simply having different titles isn’t a defense under the bill.A hotel housekeeper, for instance, could challenge higher wages paid to male janitors, who do substantially the same work, noted Farrell. The Fair Pay Act, SB358, also prohibits retaliation against workers who discuss colleagues’ wages. It doesn’t require employers to disclose wages.Supporters say women often fail to challenge pay gaps because they don’t know they exist.
