California Equal Pay Act: What SB 642 Changed for Workers

The California Equal Pay Act makes it illegal for your employer to pay you less than coworkers of another sex, race, or ethnicity for substantially similar work. Since January 1, 2026, Senate Bill 642 (opens in a new tab) has made that law considerably stronger. You now have three years from the last affected paycheck to sue, you can recover up to six years of the difference, and the statute says in plain words that bonuses, stock, and benefits count as pay.

Maybe a coworker mentioned what they make, or a job posting for your own role listed a range that starts above your salary. Moments like that are often where these cases begin, and the law protects your right to have that conversation.

Below we cover exactly what SB 642 changed, who the Equal Pay Act protects, what counts as comparable work, how employers try to justify a gap, the pay information you can demand, what happens if you are punished for asking, and the deadlines that apply.

This article is general information about California law, not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.

What did SB 642 change in the California Equal Pay Act?

SB 642 changed four things. It extended the time to sue and added a six-year look-back, it defined wages to include every form of pay, it replaced "opposite sex" with "another sex," and it required the pay scales employers disclose to be a good-faith estimate of what they expect to pay upon hire.

The look-back is the change with the most money attached. Under Labor Code section 1197.5(i) (opens in a new tab), a cause of action occurs each time you are paid under the unlawful decision. So a gap that has run for years is still live as long as you were paid under it recently, and the recovery can reach back to its beginning, capped at six years.

A lot of what you may read about SB 642 credits it with rules that are older. Pay ranges in job postings, the right to ask for your own pay scale, and the 90-day retaliation presumption all existed before 2026. They still matter, and we cover them below, but SB 642 did not create them.

Who does the California Equal Pay Act protect?

Every California employee, in private and public employment, who is paid less than coworkers of another sex, race, or ethnicity for substantially similar work. Sex has the broad meaning it carries under FEHA, which includes gender identity and gender expression, so the "another sex" wording reaches transgender and nonbinary workers directly.

You do not have to prove your employer meant to discriminate. The Court of Appeal confirmed in Green v. Par Pools (2003) that the statute does not require proof of discriminatory intent. You show the gap and the comparable work, and the burden then moves to the employer to justify the difference.

Your comparator does not have to work in your building. California dropped the same-establishment requirement in 2015, so you can compare yourself to coworkers at another location of the same employer. The federal Equal Pay Act still limits comparisons to a single establishment, which is one reason California workers usually bring this claim under state law.

Here is the limit that catches people. The Equal Pay Act does not ban every pay difference. It bans differences tied to sex, race, or ethnicity. If a coworker of the same sex and race earns more for the same job, that may be unfair, but it is not an Equal Pay Act claim on its own.

What counts as substantially similar work?

Work that is comparable when viewed as a composite of skill, effort, and responsibility, performed under similar working conditions. The jobs do not have to be identical and do not need the same title. What matters is the work actually done, not the label the employer puts on it.

Choosing the right comparator is where many claims succeed or fail. In Hall v. County of Los Angeles (2007), the Court of Appeal held that a worker employed by a separate legal services corporation had to compare herself to men at that same corporation, not to men in the county counsel's office, because they worked for a different entity. The comparator has to be someone your employer actually pays.

One comparator can be enough. In Allen v. Staples (2022), evidence of a pay gap between the plaintiff and a single male coworker carried her initial burden and shifted the case to the employer to justify the difference. You do not need a spreadsheet of the whole department to start.

What this looks like in practice. Say you supervise a team of eight, and a male supervisor at another branch runs a team of nine with the same duties, the same reporting line, and similar hours. His title says senior supervisor and yours does not. That title difference alone does not decide anything.

Does the Equal Pay Act cover bonuses, stock, and benefits?

Yes, expressly, since January 1, 2026. SB 642 added a definition of wages that includes all forms of pay, including salary, overtime pay, bonuses, stock, stock options, profit sharing and bonus plans, life insurance, vacation and holiday pay, allowances, travel reimbursement, and benefits.

That closes an argument employers used to make, which was to point to matching base salaries and ignore everything else. If your base pay matches a comparator but your bonus target, equity grant, or allowance does not, the gap in total compensation is what the law now measures.

This matters most in jobs where base salary is the smaller part of the package. Sales commissions and bonus plans, technology equity grants, and executive benefits are exactly where a gap can sit unnoticed for years, and the six-year look-back means the full stretch of it may be recoverable.

How can my employer justify paying me less?

Only by proving the gap rests on a seniority system, a merit system, a system that measures production, or a bona fide factor other than sex, race, or ethnicity, such as education, training, or experience. The employer must also prove each factor is applied reasonably and that the factors explain the entire gap, not just part of it.

The last defense gets the most scrutiny. Under section 1197.5(a)(1)(D), the factor has to be job related and consistent with business necessity, and it cannot itself be derived from a sex-based or race-based pay difference. Even then, the defense fails if you show an alternative practice that would serve the same business purpose without the gap.

Prior salary is never a justification. The statute says so directly, which matters because pay set off a prior salary tends to carry an old gap forward. An employer may still base a raise on a current employee's existing salary, but any resulting difference has to be justified by one of the four factors.

Vague answers are not enough. In Allen v. Staples, the employer claimed a factor other than sex but did not identify the specific factors behind either employee's salary, and the court sent the case forward. "He negotiated better" or "it was market rate" has to be backed by something concrete that explains the whole difference.

What pay information can I ask my employer for?

You can ask for the pay scale for your current position, and your employer must provide it. Applicants can ask for the pay scale of the job they applied for. Employers with 15 or more employees must also include the pay scale in every job posting, including postings placed through a third party.

Since SB 642, that pay scale has to mean something. Labor Code section 432.3 (opens in a new tab) defines it as a good-faith estimate of the salary or hourly range the employer reasonably expects to pay for the position upon hire. A range drawn so wide that it tells you nothing is harder to defend as a good-faith estimate.

A posted range is also evidence. If your employer advertises your own job at a range that starts above what you earn, that posting is a written statement from your employer about what the work is worth. Save a copy with the date.

Employers must keep each employee's job title and wage rate history for the length of employment plus three years. If they fail to keep those records, the law presumes in your favor on a claim under section 432.3, which makes poor recordkeeping the employer's problem rather than yours.

One practical warning. An employer may not ask about your salary history. But if you volunteer it without being asked, section 432.3(i) lets the employer consider it in setting your pay. You are under no obligation to share it, and a salary expectation for the new job is a different and safer answer to give.

If you have already found a gap and are wondering what to do with it, this is a good point to talk it through. A consultation with our office is free, and you can reach us at 818-585-1267 or through the contact form. Our wage and hour practice and harassment and discrimination practice pages explain the claims we take.

Can I be fired for asking about pay or comparing salaries?

No. Section 1197.5(k) bars your employer from firing, disciplining, or retaliating against you for invoking the Equal Pay Act or helping a coworker do so. It also bars any rule that stops you from disclosing your own wages, discussing other people's wages, asking what a coworker makes, or encouraging coworkers to use their rights.

Timing works in your favor. If your employer takes action against you within 90 days of the protected activity, the statute creates a rebuttable presumption in favor of your claim. In other words, the employer then has to come forward with a legitimate reason, rather than you having to prove the motive from scratch.

You do not have to be right about the law to be protected for raising it. In Contreras v. Green Thumb Produce, a published 2025 decision, a forklift driver complained that he was paid less than coworkers doing the same work and was fired. He had misread the Equal Pay Act, because he never claimed the gap was about sex, race, or ethnicity. The Court of Appeal still reinstated the jury's verdict for him under the whistleblower statute, Labor Code section 1102.5 (opens in a new tab), because he had reasonable cause to believe a violation was happening.

The retaliation deadline is short. A civil action for Equal Pay Act retaliation must be filed within one year. Our guide to workplace retaliation in California covers the other statutes that may also apply when you are punished for speaking up.

How long do I have to file, and what can I recover?

You have three years after the last date of the violation to sue for unequal pay, and you can recover the gap for the entire period it existed, up to six years. A winning worker recovers the unpaid difference, interest, an equal amount as liquidated damages, court costs, and reasonable attorney's fees.

The liquidated damages are what make this statute different. They double the unpaid wages. Say you were paid $500 a month less than a male coworker for the same work for five years. That is $30,000 in unpaid wages, and the statute's measure of recovery would add another $30,000 in liquidated damages, plus interest and fees, if a court found a violation. Whether you have a claim, and what it is worth, depends on the facts and on the employer's defenses.

You do not have to go to an agency first. Unlike a FEHA claim, an Equal Pay Act claim can be filed directly in court, as the Court of Appeal recognized in Bass v. Great Western Savings and Loan (1976). You may instead file a complaint with the Labor Commissioner (opens in a new tab), which keeps your name confidential until it establishes the complaint is valid.

Two more protections are worth knowing. The right cannot be signed away, because section 1197.5(h) allows recovery notwithstanding any agreement to work for less. And pay discrimination can also violate FEHA, which covers more characteristics than the Equal Pay Act does. Our guide to workplace discrimination in California explains that route and its agency step.

What should workers watch out for under the new law?

Most of the risks are about evidence and timing. The longer deadline helps, but a claim still depends on what you can show and when you act. These are the points that trip people up most.

• Assuming any pay gap is illegal. The Equal Pay Act reaches gaps tied to sex, race, or ethnicity. A gap with no such pattern may still be worth raising, but it needs a different theory.
• Looking only at base salary. Compare bonus targets, equity grants, commissions, and allowances too, because the law now counts all of them.
• Letting the trail go cold. The three years run from the last unequal paycheck, so leaving the job starts a countdown you cannot see on a calendar.
• Taking payroll records you are not entitled to. Talking about pay and sharing your own pay stub are protected. Copying confidential files you reach through your job is a different matter and can be treated as misconduct.
• Missing the one-year retaliation deadline. If you were punished after asking about pay, that clock is shorter than the pay claim's.
• Volunteering your old salary in a new negotiation. You do not have to, and once volunteered it can be used to set your pay.

Keep what you lawfully have. Save your own pay stubs, offer letters, bonus statements, equity grant notices, and any job posting for your role with its listed range. Write down when you learned what a coworker earns and who told you. Under Labor Code section 226 (opens in a new tab) you can also request copies of your own wage statements, and the unpaid wages guide explains how wage records work in a claim.

If you think you are being paid less than coworkers doing the same work, the useful next step is to have someone look at the comparison and the employer's likely explanation. A consultation with our office is free, and it is the kind of question we answer every day. You can reach us at 818-585-1267. The firm has recovered over $12 million for clients in labor, employment, and injury matters. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome, and every case depends on its own facts.

This article is general information about California law and is not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. For advice about your specific situation, talk to a lawyer.