Am I being paid less than coworkers for similar work? What California's Equal Pay Act requires

A pay gap often surfaces by accident, through a coworker's comment or a job posting. This page explains the Equal Pay Act as amended by SB 642, effective January 1, 2026, and the pay transparency rules that work alongside it. For the wider picture of workplace claims, see our employment law page.

What does "substantially similar work" mean?

Section 1197.5(a) and (b) compare work "when viewed as a composite of skill, effort, and responsibility, and performed under similar working conditions." The Labor Commissioner's guidance, drawing on federal definitions, explains each part: skill is the experience, training, education and ability the job requires; effort is the physical or mental exertion; responsibility is the degree of accountability; and working conditions are the surroundings and hazards. The jobs must be mostly similar, not identical.

The same guidance makes three practical points. A different job title does not defeat a claim, because overall job content is what matters. You do not need to show that anyone intended to discriminate. And the act applies to public and private employers of every size, across the whole business rather than one location, so a coworker at another branch can be a valid comparison. It covers all employees except outside salespersons.

"Wages" is defined broadly in section 1197.5(l)(3): salary, overtime, bonuses, stock and stock options, profit sharing, life insurance, vacation and holiday pay, allowances, travel reimbursement and benefits. "Sex" has the same meaning as in the Fair Employment and Housing Act (section 1197.5(l)(2)), which the Labor Commissioner says includes gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding.

What must the employer prove to justify a gap?

Once an employee shows lower pay for substantially similar work, the burden moves to the employer. It must prove the difference rests on one or more factors listed in section 1197.5(a)(1) and (b)(1): a seniority system, a merit system, a system measuring earnings by quantity or quality of production, or a bona fide factor other than sex, race or ethnicity, such as education, training or experience.

That last factor counts only if the employer shows it is not derived from a sex-based or race-based pay difference, is job related, and is consistent with a business necessity. It fails if the employee shows another practice would serve the same purpose without the gap. Every factor must be applied reasonably, and together the factors must account for the entire difference (section 1197.5(a)(2), (3)). Prior salary cannot justify any disparity (section 1197.5(a)(4)).

How does an equal pay claim work, step by step?

1. Identify the comparison. Write down who earns more, what each of you does, and how the jobs compare in skill, effort, responsibility and conditions.
2. Ask for your pay scale. On request, your employer must give you the pay scale for your current position (Labor Code section 432.3(c)(2)), meaning a good faith estimate of the range it expects to pay at hire (section 432.3(m)(1)).
3. Gather your records. Our page on getting your personnel file and payroll records explains the request and the employer's deadlines.
4. Choose where to file. The Labor Commissioner says an Equal Pay Act claim can go to its office, to the Civil Rights Department, or to court, and that you need not file with its office before suing. It accepts claims online or on its form EPA 1.
5. The investigation. A Labor Commissioner complaint is investigated under section 98.7(b), which can include interviews, document review and an investigative hearing. The office then dismisses the claim or issues a determination or a citation.
6. Enforcement. If an employer ignores a determination, the Labor Commissioner must go to court to enforce it; an unchallenged citation becomes final and is entered as a judgment. An employee who chooses court instead files a civil action under section 1197.5(h).

The Labor Commissioner says it does not ask about immigration status, and no Social Security number or photo identification is needed to file. Our page for an employment lawyer in Los Angeles County covers local agencies and courts.

What are the deadlines and what can be recovered?

Under section 1197.5(i)(3), the cause of action occurs when an unlawful pay practice is adopted, when you become subject to it, and each time you are paid under it. Each affected paycheck can restart the three-year clock, but recovery reaches back no more than six years. Our table of employment claim deadlines in California sets these limits beside the other employment deadlines.

These damages differ from the waiting time and pay stub penalties in our overview of wage violation penalties in California. The pay transparency penalty goes into a state enforcement fund, not to the worker (section 432.3(l)).

Can I talk about pay, and what must my employer tell me?

Labor Code section 232 says an employer may not require you to keep your wages secret, make you sign a waiver of that right, or discharge, discipline or discriminate against you for disclosing your pay. Section 1197.5(k)(1) also protects discussing and asking about other employees' wages and helping a coworker use these rights. No law requires the employer to tell you what others earn, but the Labor Commissioner confirms you may ask.

• Job postings. An employer with 15 or more employees must include the pay scale in any job posting (section 432.3(c)(3)). The Labor Commissioner reads this to cover any position that may be filled in California, and says a link or QR code is not enough.
• Applicants. An applicant may get the pay scale on reasonable request (section 432.3(c)(1)). An employer may not seek or rely on salary history (section 432.3(a), (b)), though it may ask about salary expectations (section 432.3(j)).
• Records. Employers must keep each employee's job title and wage rate history for the employment plus three years (section 432.3(c)(4)), and wage and job classification records for three years (section 1197.5(e)). Failing to keep the section 432.3 records creates a rebuttable presumption in favor of the employee's claim (section 432.3(d)(5)).

What changes the answer?

Which trait the gap follows

Section 1197.5 covers gaps tied to sex, race or ethnicity. A gap that follows age, disability or another protected characteristic is a Fair Employment and Housing Act question, and the Labor Commissioner suggests that employees with claims under both laws may wish to file with the Civil Rights Department. Our guide to filing a Civil Rights Department complaint explains that process.

How long the gap has lasted

Relief is capped at six years (section 1197.5(i)(2)), so an old gap may be only partly recoverable even when the latest paycheck keeps the claim timely. Section 1197.5(i)(4) preserves the continuing violation doctrine and the discovery rule where they apply.

What reason the employer gives

A reason based on what anyone earned at a prior job cannot justify the gap (section 1197.5(a)(4); section 432.3(k)). Reasons based on seniority, merit, production or training must be applied reasonably and explain the whole difference.

Whether the employer reacted to your questions

If the employer acts against you within 90 days of protected activity under the act, section 1197.5(k)(1) creates a rebuttable presumption in your favor. Our page on what a California whistleblower has to prove explains the related protections in Labor Code section 1102.5.

Whether a federal claim is also involved

Federal law has its own Equal Pay Act. If an employee recovers liquidated damages under the California act and also recovers under the federal act (29 U.S.C. 206(d)) for the same violation, section 1197.5(j) requires returning the smaller amount.

Which route you choose

The Labor Commissioner keeps your name confidential until it establishes that the complaint is valid, unless it must reveal it to investigate (section 1197.5(f)). If it supervises a payment and you accept payment in full, you waive your right to sue under section 1197.5(h) (section 1197.5(d)). Consenting to a state suit on your behalf waives your own action unless that suit is dismissed without prejudice, though you may intervene or sue yourself if it is not decided within 180 days (section 1197.5(g)). A lawsuit allows recovery of costs and reasonable attorney fees, which our page on who pays the lawyer in a California employment case explains.

An equal pay complaint follows a different track from an ordinary wage claim for unpaid hours, which our comparison of a Labor Commissioner wage claim and a lawsuit covers. For the local offices, see our guide to Labor Commissioner wage claims in the Los Angeles area.

A worked example

For example, imagine a hypothetical project coordinator at a Glendale company who learns that a male coordinator at the company's Burbank office earns $4 more an hour. His title is "Coordinator II" and hers is "Coordinator," but both run the same kinds of projects, supervise no one and work in similar offices. A manager tells her he "negotiated a higher number based on his last job."

The different title does not end the analysis, and the comparison across offices is allowed. The manager's explanation rests on prior salary, which cannot justify a disparity, so the employer would need to prove another factor that is applied reasonably and accounts for the whole $4. As an illustration only: $4 an hour over 2,080 hours is $8,320 a year, or $24,960 over three years, and section 1197.5(c) adds an equal amount as liquidated damages, plus interest. None of this tells her whether the employer can prove a lawful reason or what a claim would be worth. It tells her what records to request and which deadlines to track.

Common mistakes with equal pay concerns

• Stopping at the job title. The test is substantially similar work, not matching titles.
• Comparing base pay only. Bonuses, stock, profit sharing and benefits count as wages under the act.
• Waiting too long. Recovery reaches back only six years, and retaliation claims have one-year limits.
• Accepting a supervised payment without advice. Full payment approved by the Labor Commissioner waives your court action.
• Signing a release first. Read our page on whether to sign a severance agreement before giving up a pay claim.

What to do this week

1. Write a dated note naming each higher-paid coworker you know of, how you learned their pay, and how their duties compare with yours.
2. Ask your employer in writing for the pay scale for your position, and keep the request and the answer.
3. Save your offer letter, pay stubs, bonus statements, reviews and any job postings for your position that list a range.
4. Request your payroll records and personnel file in writing.
5. Note every conversation about pay, who was present, and any change in treatment afterward.
6. Speak with an employment lawyer before filing, signing a release or accepting a payment.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to prove my employer meant to discriminate?

No. The Labor Commissioner says there is no requirement to show discriminatory intent. You show lower pay for substantially similar work, and the employer must then justify the difference.

Can I be fired for telling a coworker what I earn?

No. Labor Code section 232(c) bars discharge, formal discipline or other discrimination against an employee who discloses their wages. Section 1197.5(k) also protects asking about coworkers' pay.

Does the Equal Pay Act apply to a small employer?

Yes. The Labor Commissioner says it applies to employers regardless of size. Pay scales in job postings are required only of employers with 15 or more employees, but any employer must give a current employee their own pay scale on request.

Can a new employer ask what I earned at my last job?

No. Section 432.3(b) bars seeking an applicant's salary history. If you volunteer it unprompted, the employer may consider it, but prior salary still cannot justify a sex, race or ethnicity pay gap.

Will my employer learn my name if I complain to the Labor Commissioner?

Not at first. Section 1197.5(f) keeps your name confidential until the office establishes the complaint's validity, unless it must reveal it to investigate, and it stays confidential if you withdraw before then.

Can coworkers file together?

The Labor Commissioner says similarly affected employees may each file claims against the same employer, and those claims may be assigned to the same investigator.

How can Glendale Law help?

We represent employees. We can compare your duties and pay the way the statute requires, request the records that show the gap, and explain which route fits before a deadline passes. For the basics, see our article on five employee rights every Californian should know. Call (818) 244-9000 or request a consultation.