-
On October 21, 2017, Ramit Mizrahi will once again be speaking about the year’s most important employment law cases. The panel will be part of the California Employment Lawyers Association’s 30th Annual Employment Law Conference. She will be speaking alongside Andrew H. Friedman of Helmer Friedman, LLP.
Date and time: October 21, 2017, 10 a.m.–12:05 p.m.
Location: Oakland Marriott City Center
Additional information can be found on the CELA events page.
-
Despite the federal Equal Pay Act of 1963 being on the books for over 50 years and California having its own Equal Pay Act, the gender wage gap has persisted.
According to research cited by the California legislature, women in California still earn 84 cents for every dollar earned by a male counterpart. This is sightly better than the nationwide average of 80 cents. The wage gap is even wider for women of color (for example, African-American women earn 63 cents and Latinas earn 54 cents per male dollar). Closing the wage gap would give an additional $8,000 on average to each working woman in California—an additional $39 billion in total, benefiting families and the economy.
As I have written before, one of the reasons that the wage gap persists is that women’s lower prior salary is used to justify paying them less at new jobs. This means that a new employer without intentional bias can perpetuate the pay gap by relying on what may have been the result of bias elsewhere. The lifetime cost to women can be tremendous.
AB-168, authored by Assemblymember Susan Talamantes Eggman (D-Stockton) and signed into law by Governor Brown, seeks to close the gender pay gap. The newly enacted bill adds California Labor Code section 432.3.
Under section 432.3, effective January 1, 2018:
- Employers can no long ask job applicants about their salary history, including compensation and benefits.
- Employers can no longer consider prior salary as a factor in determining whether to offer an applicant a job or what salary to set for the position.
- Employers are required, upon request, to provide a job applicant with the pay scale for the position.
- A job applicant may still decide to voluntarily (without prompting) disclose their salary history information, and employers may consider voluntarily disclosed information when setting compensation.
The bill applies to all California employers, private and public.
Exempt from Section 432.3 is salary information that is subject to public disclosure pursuant to state and federal law, including the California Public Records Act and the Freedom of Information Act.
Hopefully, this new law will have a major impact on closing the wage gap.
-
UPDATE: On January 1, 2021, the California Family Rights Act (“CFRA”) was expanded to cover employees who work for employers with five or employees; as a result the New Parent Leave Act was rendered unnecessary and was repealed. While the New Parent Leave Act was short-lived, it was a stepping stone to provide more new parents with leave rights.
Read more about SB 1383, which expanded the CFRA, here.
Expansion of bonding rights for California parents
Thanks to the SB-63, introduced by Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson, California parents who work for smaller employers will now be allowed to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid job-protected leave to bond with a new child. During that time, their employers will be required to continue their group health coverage benefits. Government Code Section 12945.6, known as the New Parent Leave Act, will make bonding leave available to millions of additional workers — an estimated 16% of the California workforce who did not previously have this right.
Eligibility requirements
To be eligible for the 12 weeks of leave under the New Parent Leave Act, the following criteria apply:
- The employee must have at least 12 months of service with the employer;
- The employee must have at least 1,250 hours of service during the prior 12 months; and
- The employee must works at a worksite with at least 20 employees within 75 miles.
The employee can take the bonding leave within one year of a child’s birth, adoption, or foster care placement.
Existing law, the California Family Rights Act (“CFRA”), provides similar parental leave rights…
October 2017
Mizrahi Law, APC
- 35 N Lake Ave, Ste 710, Pasadena, California 91101
- contact@mizrahilaw.com
- (626) 380-9000
Client Testimonial
“I highly recommend Ramit Mizrahi. She has a winning combination of knowledge, passion, strategy, and empathy. She takes action and communicates updates promptly. Her professionalism is hard to beat. I’d give her 10 stars if I could!”
Latest News
- Ramit Mizrahi has been recognized as one of the Top 100 Super Lawyers and Top 50 Women Super Lawyers in Southern California in 2023.
- Ms. Mizrahi is being recognized in the 2023 Edition of The Best Lawyers in America©, published by U.S. News & World Report and by Best Lawyers.
- Ms. Mizrahi has been selected as a Top Attorney by Pasadena Magazine for 2023.
- Ms. Mizrahi is serving as Chair of the Pasadena Bar Association Labor and Employment Section.