Civil Rights Department Announces Opening of 2023 Pay Data Reporting Period

SACRAMENTO – The California Civil Rights Department (CRD) today announced opening the pay data reporting portal for submissions for the 2023 calendar year. Under California law, private employers of 100 or more employees or workers hired through labor contractors are required to annually report pay, demographic, and other workforce data to the state. The deadline for employers to file pay data reports with CRD is May 8, 2024. Along with opening the portal, CRD today also released updated report templates, FAQs, and an updated user guide.

“Every year, the Civil Rights Department receives, processes, and publishes key pay data on millions of workers across the state,” said CRD Director Kevin Kish. “These reports serve as a vital indicator on the fairness of our economy. When we’re able to identify the challenges, we can help set clear goals for where we need to go to tackle persistent wage gaps. I encourage all employers to do their part in helping us address this problem. Review the data, take action to ensure pay equity, and get your reports in by the deadline.”

As a result of the passage of Senate Bill 973 in 2020, California collects pay data to promote employers’ compliance with equal pay and anti-discrimination laws, as well as to support efforts by the state to efficiently identify wage patterns and effectively enforce anti-discrimination laws in the workplace. In passing the law, the Legislature recognized that, despite significant progress in California to strengthen equal pay laws, the pay gap between men and women and between racial groups persists, resulting in billions of dollars in lost wages.

According to California pay data from 2021, women and communities of color remained concentrated among the state’s lowest paid workers. For instance, while there were fewer women (48%) in the workforce data, they made up a larger share of workers (54%) in the lowest pay range earning $32,239 or less. In addition, fewer than 1 in 20 Latino workers, and 1 in 10 Black and Native American workers were in the top-earning positions. In 2022, the Legislature expanded pay data requirements under Senate Bill 1162 to include workers hired through labor contractors.

Under California law, CRD is authorized to pursue penalties against companies that fail to comply with the state’s reporting requirements. In 2023, CRD secured a nearly $100,000 settlement against Cambrian Homecare to resolve repeated alleged failures to report. In 2022, CRD secured a set of first-of-a-kind stipulated judgments against Chase Bank and Michaels to ensure the companies’ compliance with California’s pay data reporting laws.

General information on California’s pay data reporting process is available here. An FAQ to support employer compliance with reporting requirements for 2023 data is available here. Pay data reporting results for 2021 and 2020 are available here.

The California Civil Rights Department (CRD) is the state agency charged with enforcing California’s civil rights laws. CRD’s mission is to protect the people of California from unlawful discrimination in employment, housing, public accommodations, and state-funded programs and activities, and from hate violence and human trafficking. For more information, visit calcivilrights.ca.gov.

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