Strictest Equal Pay Law Ever Coming To CA

What the head of an equal rights organization calls “the strongest state law for equal pay in the nation” is expected to be signed shortly by California Governor Jerry Brown. The California Fair Pay Act addresses differential pay based on gender, requiring equal pay for men and women who are performing “substantially similar” work regardless of their job titles or whether they are in the same work location. Early opponents, including the California Chamber of Commerce, agreed to support the bill after it was modified to specify that pay differentials will be acceptable if employers can prove they are based on training, experience or some other bona fide factor, and not gender. The bill was opposed, however, by the California chapter of the National Organization for Women, on the grounds that it left out a number of categories needing protection, including non-white men and members of the LGBT community.