Your Rights Under the California Fair Pay Act

California’s new Fair Pay Act, which went into effect on January 1, 2016, is designed to promote wage The California Fair Pay Act (CFPA) went into effect on January 1, 2016. The new law is designed to promote wage transparency in the workplace and make it easier for workers to bring legal actions against their employers. This includes situations where employees of the opposite sex in similar working conditions are paid a higher wage for “substantially similar work.”

If a worker shows there is a pay difference with a co-worker of the opposite sex despite performing substantially equal work, the employer must show a valid and non-gender-related reason why the wage difference exists, such as a seniority system or a merit system.

What’s more, employees who exercise their employee rights under the Fair Pay Act are protected against discrimination, termination, and harassment from their employer. If California employees have concerns about wage disparities, they should seek legal advice.

Am I Allowed To Ask My Co-Workers How Much They Make?

Yes, under California law, you can ask your co-workers about their wages. Similarly, your co-workers may legally ask you what wages you earn. However, nothing in the Fair Pay Act requires either you or your co-workers to answer this question if asked.

Find top Employment Law - Employee lawyers easily

Connect with a qualified attorney today.

Find a lawyer today

Can I Voluntarily Disclose My Wages To Other Workers?

Yes. Equal pay laws allow you to discuss your wages with other co-workers, even if the other co-workers do not ask you about your wages. For instance, if you recently received a one-dollar-per-hour raise, you can tell other co-workers about your raise, whether or not they’ve asked.

Can My Employer Pay Me a Different Wage Than a Co-worker of the Opposite Sex?

Under the new law, an employer must pay co-workers of opposite sexes the same wage if they perform substantially similar job duties. So if you and your co-worker perform work tasks that are completely different, your employer can pay you different wages. Even if you do perform substantially similar work, your employer may be able to escape any legal consequences for a wage disparity if it can show it is due to some bona fide factor besides gender.

There is a significant wage gap for female employees and their male counterparts for the same senior positions. Getting paid less for equal work isn’t exactly a news flash. However, updates in state and federal laws have made it easier to bring lawsuits. The number of women coming forward to seek gender equality is on the rise. There is also optimism that some high-profile cases may actually create change.

“Ultimately, that’s the hope that with these high-profile cases being brought and big judgments happening—it stops the widespread problem of unequal pay,” says John Mullan, a plaintiff’s attorney at the employment firm Rudy, Exelrod, Zieff & Lowe in San Francisco. “As this becomes more and more in the public consciousness, there will be more of a push for accountability.”

Despite the laws dictated by the Equal Pay Act of 1963 and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, pay discrimination lawsuits have historically been hard to win. “You need to have a fairly good basis for believing there’s a pay disparity between the female worker and their male colleagues doing substantially similar work. That’s California’s standard—substantially similar, not equal, which was the old standard. That was tricky in the past,” Mullan explains. “But a couple of things have happened.”

Equal Pay Class Actions

Along with James Finberg at the Altshuler Berzon law firm, Mullan worked on an equal pay class action case against Oracle on behalf of three female employees. Finberg led a similar suit against Google. Other recent examples include a class action against Microsoft, a class action against X (formerly Twitter), and a suit against the company behind Fearless Girl.

“With some of the changes in the last couple of years that have made it easier to move forward, I think we’re probably going to see even more of these gender pay gap cases,” Mullan says.

Can My Employer Take Action Against Me for Discussing Wages With Other Co-workers?

No. The Fair Pay Act prohibits California employers from taking retaliatory action against you for discussing your pay scale or salary history with co-workers. Your employer cannot retaliate for bringing a legal action seeking compensation for disparate wage rates or back pay. Your employer cannot fire you for exercising any other right under the labor laws.

Pay Discrimination and Sexual Harassment Claims

The lines between wage discrimination and sexual harassment have become blurred in recent years. As people come forward with allegations, it opens the door for others who were afraid to do so.

“Whenever someone comes to us with a workplace discrimination issue, there’s always fear of retaliation or wrongful termination. In other industries, that might be limited to continuing to work in that environment, but in Silicon Valley and Hollywood, people who step forward fear broader retaliation—that they’re a troublemaker and won’t be hired throughout the entire industry,” Mullan says.

What Should I Do if I Feel My Employer Has Retaliated Against Me?

You should document when the retaliation occurred, what it consisted of, and as many details about the incident as possible. There is a statute of limitations that limits how long you have to file a claim for unlawful pay practices. 

Share this information with a California employment law attorney. An employment lawyer can explain your rights under the California Equal Pay Act or the federal Equal Pay Act and the solutions available to you. Most California employment lawyers offer a free consultation so you can get legal advice.