January 2023: California Releases Guidance on Pay Scale Disclosures

Update Applicable to:
All employers with 15 or more employees in the state of California.

What happened?
In our previous communication here, we set a reminder that Senate Bill 1162 (SB 1162), also known as the “California Pay Transparency,” will go into effect on January 1, 2023. This is an update to that communication.

What are the details?
On December 27, 2022, the California Labor Commissioner’s office released eagerly anticipated Frequently Asked Questions (“FAQs”) on the state’s new pay scale disclosure requirements under the Equal Pay Act.

The guidance clarifies some of the outstanding questions on compliance with the requirements introduced in SB 1162. The FAQs clarify which employers will be subject to the pay disclosure requirements and the content of the mandatory disclosures. Of note, the FAQs do not clarify whether the requirements only apply to postings made on or after January 1, 2023, or if they will apply to all postings that remain active as of January 1, 2023.

For more information, please see the links below:

Senate Bill 1162 (SB 1162)

Previous Vensure Communication (December 7, 2022)

What do employers need to do?
Employers should review the links above and refer to the FAQs for guidance on pay transparency.