With its recently published Equal Pay Act statistics for 2023, showing enduring gaps between genders and races, California’s Civil Rights Department (CRD) continues its campaign for wage parity. See, Old Trends Die Hard: 2023 Equal Pay Results: Disparities Not Disappearing (April 11, 2025). Employers of 100 or more must report their 2024 numbers by May 14, 2025.
To motivate compliance, the CRD is targeting larger non-reporting companies for substantial penalties, including ● a 2024 $15 million settlement with Snapchat to resolve equal pay, sexual harassment and other claims; ● a 2023 near- $100,000 settlement against Cambrian Homecare over pay data reporting failures; ● another 2023 settlement, for $54 million, against Activision Blizzard over allegations of equal pay and other civil rights violations against women; ● a 2023 $100 million settlement with Riot Games on similar claims; and ● what the agency termed “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.”
As CRD Director Kevin Kish put it: “Every year, hard-working Californians lose out on billions of dollars because of the wage gap. Employers can help us fight back. Report your pay data, take a look at employee wages, and take steps to ensure everyone gets equal pay for equal work.”
Take-Aways:
With only limited exceptions, California employers of any size must pay equally between the sexes and races. Via the state’s online portal, those with 100-plus workers have until May 14, 2025 to submit their equal pay data reports for 2024.
For further information, please contact Tim Bowles, Cindy Bamforth or Helena Kobrin.
See also:
- Payroll Data Reporting: May 8, 2024 Deadline for Companies with 100+ on Payroll (March 15, 2024)
- Employer’s Mandatory Show & Tell: New State Guidance on Pay Rate Transparency (January 13, 2023)
- For the Record: Sound Management Practices for Personnel Documentation (August 14, 2020)
Helena Kobrin
April 17, 2025