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California's pay data reporting rules are now more burdensome.
Senate Bill 464, signed into law on October 13, 2025, enhances existing pay reporting requirements to address wage disparities. It introduces strict changes for private employers, effective in 2026 and 2027, including stricter penalties and reporting on new job categories.
Current Reporting Rules
Private employers with 100 or more employees, including many workers employed through labor contractors, must submit annual pay data reports to the California Civil Rights Department (CRD) for a "snapshot" period. These reports cover:
- Employee counts by race, ethnicity, and sex across 10 job categories (aligned with EEO-1 reporting);
- Employee earnings within the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics pay bands, including hours worked;
- Mean and median hourly pay rates by race, ethnicity, and sex.
Non-compliance risks penalties of $100 per employee ($200 for repeats), at the court's discretion.
2026: Mandatory Penalties & Data Storage Requirements
Starting in 2026, penalties will become mandatory upon CRD request. For example, a 500-employee firm that failed to submit a report would face $50,000 to $100,000 in fines. However, if the violation is due to a labor contractor failing to provide the required data, courts may shift part of the penalty to them. For 2026, reports are due by May 12 (the second Wednesday in May).
In addition, SB 464 requires that employers store demographic data separately from personnel records.
2027: New Job Categories
In 2027, the 10 job categories expand to 23, based on the Standard Occupational Classification System, like "Chief executives," "Computer and mathematical occupations," and "Life, physical, and social science occupations" (the full list is available here).
For example, janitors fall under "Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations," administrative assistants under "Office and administrative support occupations," and nurses under "Health care practitioners and technical occupations." Employers must reassign roles to these categories.
Act Now
Employers should start planning now:
- Coordinate with vendors to ensure complete data for the May 12, 2026, deadline;
- Begin evaluating roles for reassignment into the 23 categories for the 2027 reporting cycle, and;
- Align reassignments with any other reporting that may be impacted (EEO-1s).
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
