Department of Fair Employment and Housing Sues JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A. for Failure to File Pay Data Report

Sacramento – The Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH), California’s civil rights agency, today filed a petition to enforce a requirement that large employers report annually on gender and ethnic and racial breakdowns in the job categories and pay of their employees against JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A. The company, the U.S. retail bank subsidiary of JPMorgan Chase & Co., which operates over 900 bank branches in California, failed to file the required certified report for 2020, which were due by March 31st, 2021.

The petition, filed in Alameda Superior Court by DFEH attorney Renée Paradis, follows on a similar petition filed against Michaels Stores last month. These enforcement actions are the first since the enactment of the pay data reporting requirement in 2020. California employers with more than 100 employees are required to file the annual reports, a requirement the Legislature imposed because pay discrimination is difficult to detect and address. The law allows DFEH to seek an order compelling any employer that fails to file a report to comply with the law and to pay any costs, including attorney’s fees.

According to the DFEH’s lawsuit, JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A. has well over the number of employees that triggers the law’s requirement. Despite multiple notices of its failure to file over the past six months, the employer has yet to file a certified pay data report for reporting year 2020. The report was originally due March 31st, 2021.

The DFEH is seeking an order requiring JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A. to file its certified report within 30 days, to file by the deadline in future years, and to pay DFEH’s costs in bringing the action.