Beginning on January 1, 2023, California employers, including state and local government employers and the California Legislature, must comply with the following laws:

  • California employers may not seek applicant salary history information, including compensation and benefits;
  • Upon request, California employers must provide employees with the pay scale for the position in which the employee currently works;
  • California employers with fifteen (15) or more workers must include the pay scale for a position in job postings;
  • California employers must maintain records of a job title and wage rate history for each worker for the duration of the relationship plus three (3) years after the end of the employment;
  • California employers with at least fifteen (15) workers engaging another entity or person to announce, post, or publish a job shall provide the pay scale to the entity or person. The entity or person must include the pay scale in their job postings.  California Labor Code §§ 432.3(b), (c), (g).

Additionally, this law prohibits employers from relying on an applicant’s salary history information to determine whether to offer employment to an applicant or what salary to offer an applicant.  California Labor Code § 432.3(a).

“Pay scale” is defined as the salary or hourly wage range the employer reasonably expects to pay for the position.  California Labor Code § 432.3(m)(1).

Any person aggrieved by any above may file a claim with the California Labor Commissioner.  California Labor Code § 432.3(d)(1).  They must file the claim within one (1) year of learning of the violation(s).