Board approves equal‑pay reporting requirement for city contractors; advisory board to design data system

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors on Nov. 25 approved an ordinance requiring many city contractors and certain grantees to submit equal‑pay reports so the city can detect and address potential pay disparities.

Supervisor Campos, the ordinance’s lead sponsor, said the measure is intended to surface pay disparities that often remain hidden. "By asking employers to affirmatively report compensation data to the city, we are asking city contractors to consciously take a look at how compensation works for them," Campos said. He cited an example from a Jamestown Community Center director who, after reviewing her organization’s pay data, found unexplained disparities.

Key elements adopted by the board include:

- A certification and reporting program for certain city contractors with 20 or more employees; a compliance threshold for grantees at $50,000 in grant funds; the board considered and rejected an on‑the‑spot increase in that grantee threshold during the meeting. - Creation of an Equal Pay Advisory Board, to hold public meetings and recommend a data collection system intended to minimize reporting burdens and protect privacy. Campos moved an amendment to set contractors’ first reporting deadline as Jan. 31, 2016; the board adopted the amendment. - Explicit privacy protections: an amendment adopted during the meeting clarified that information protected by the right to privacy under the U.S. Constitution will be protected by the city.

Human Rights Commission director Teresa Sparks told the board the commission will need one half to one full time employee to implement the ordinance, and Campos said the city might need to spend about $50,000 to amend or add a licensing agreement for data collection. The city controller’s office estimated that raising the employee threshold to the levels discussed would limit coverage to roughly 11% of vendors—about 1,500 of the 14,000 vendors who contracted with the city last year.

Supervisor Tang proposed an amendment that adds the Board of Supervisors as an explicit recipient of the advisory board’s recommendations within six months of its inaugural meeting; the board adopted that amendment. The board also approved a motion to duplicate the file and refer a duplicate to committee to explore whether entities that receive city tax breaks should be included in a separate process.

The ordinance passed by roll call vote, recorded as 10 ayes and no nays.

Campos said the ordinance is intended to be a first step: the advisory board is expected to recommend data collection methods and potentially propose future legislative changes to expand or refine the program.

The Human Rights Commission will convene the advisory board and coordinate implementation; reporting will not begin until the system is in place, currently scheduled for Jan. 2016 under the adopted amendment.