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Committee advances revisions to California Equal Pay Act to extend recovery and update definitions
Summary
SB 642 would update the California Equal Pay Act by extending the period for recovering lost wages, clarifying the definition of wages to include all compensation and replacing gender-binary language; the committee advanced the bill 5-0.
The committee advanced SB 642, a measure updating the California Equal Pay Act on its 10th anniversary and proposing several changes supporters said would improve enforcement and narrow pay gaps.
Supporters including Equal Rights Advocates and California Employment Lawyers Association said the bill harmonizes the statute of limitations with other wage and discrimination claims by allowing workers to recover lost pay for a longer period (testimony asked for alignment to allow recovery of up to 10 years of lost pay in appropriate cases), updates the statutory definition of wages to include forms of compensation such as stock options and benefits, revises pay-scale definitions to require good-faith wage-range estimates, and removes gender-binary language to reflect current workforce realities.
Opponents led by the California Chamber of Commerce and Civil Justice Association of California said the proposed 10-year recovery period raises litigation and evidentiary concerns and asked for narrower language; supporters said the change is necessary because pay disparities can remain hidden for many years.
The committee voted to pass and re-refer the bill to the Judiciary Committee; the secretary announced the motion and the roll call recorded a 5-0 vote in committee.
