On July 18, 2018, California Governor Jerry Brown signed AB 2282. This new law, which goes into effect on January 1, 2019, clarifies employees’ rights, and employers’ obligations, under the state’s existing “Fair Pay Act.”
Under California’s existing Fair Pay Act, California employers were (and still are) prohibited from asking about, or relying on, an applicant’s prior salary history when deciding (a) whether to offer that applicant a job, and (b) deciding how much to pay that applicant. California employers were (and still are) also required to provide an applicant, upon request, with the “pay scale” for the position being sought.
AB 2282 has now clarified a few important questions left unresolved by recent amendment to the Fair Pay Act. We blogged about these 2017 amendments here as well as the questions that were left unresolved. Now, with the passage of AB 2822, an “applicant” is defined as someone who is seeking new employment. It does not include current employees. A reasonable “request” from an applicant is a request that comes after the initial interview. And the “pay scale” that an employer must provide to the “applicant” who makes a “reasonable request” is simply the salary or hourly wage range for the position. It need not include bonus, stock option, or other equity ranges.
You can read the full text of AB 2822 here.
