California Civil Rights Department Settles with JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A., Michaels Stores Over Failure to File Pay Data Reports

Sacramento – The California Civil Rights Department (CRD) (formerly DFEH) has settled two cases against JP Morgan Chase Bank N.A. and Michaels Stores over the employers’ failure to comply with a requirement that large employers report annually on gender and ethnic and racial breakdowns in the job categories and pay of their employees.

CRD had filed enforcement petitions against both companies in Alameda County Superior Court in May and June of this year after the employers failed to file their required reports for 2020, which were due by March 31st, 2021. Both employers, who were sent multiple notices directing them to file the required data prior to the Department’s initiating enforcement actions, filed their overdue required reports for both 2020 and 2021 only after the Department filed in court this spring.

JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A. is the U.S. retail bank subsidiary of JPMorgan Chase & Co. and operates over 900 bank branches in California. It is the nation’s and the state’s largest consumer bank. Michaels Stores is a national arts and crafts chain; it is similarly the nation’s and the state’s largest arts and crafts retailer, with over 100 locations in California.

Both employers have entered into stipulated judgments with the Department to resolve these cases, formally finding that the pay data reports were due on March 31, 2021 while the companies did not file their reports until more than a year later.

Michaels has agreed to pay the Department $6,850 in fees and costs, and the court will retain jurisdiction to enforce the requirement in the event the employer fails to file their report on time in 2023. JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A. has agreed to pay the Department $16,698 in fees and costs.

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 CRD 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.