California Gender, Race Pay-Gap Law Signed by Governor Newsom

California will soon require private employers to track how much employees make according to their race and gender.

Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed a bill (S.B. 973) on Wednesday that requires businesses with 100 or more employees to submit an annual report with salary and wage information for specific job categories along with workers’ race, ethnicity, and sex to the Department of Fair Employment and Housing.

“Despite all the progress our state has made on equal pay, the pay gap remains a serious problem,” bill author state Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson (D) said in a statement.

• The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission began collecting this data after a federal judge required it to do so, and completed collecting it earlier this year.

• Bill was part of an effort to shrink the pay gap between men and women, and between whites and people of color.

• Law goes into effect March 31, 2021.