Amended in Senate August 31, 2015

Amended in Senate July 7, 2015

Amended in Assembly June 1, 2015

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly BillNo. 1354


Introduced by Assembly Member Dodd

(Coauthors: Assembly Members Bonilla, Bonta, Chávez, Cooper, Eggman, Cristina Garcia, Gonzalez, and Lopez)

(Coauthors: Senators Allen, Block, Galgiani,begin insert Hall,end insert Hancock, Leyva, Mitchell, and Wolk)

February 27, 2015


An act to amend Section 12990 of the Government Code, relating to discrimination.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1354, as amended, Dodd. Discrimination: equal pay: state contracting.

Existing law subjects an employer who is, or wishes to become, a contractor with the state for public works, or for goods or services, to various nondiscrimination requirements. Existing law authorizes requiring an employer to submit a nondiscrimination program to the Department of Fair Employment and Housing for approval and certification, prior to becoming a contractor or subcontractor with the state, as well as requiring the provision of periodic reports of contractor or subcontractor compliance with that program.

This bill would enact the Equal Pay for Equal Work Act of 2015. The bill would require an employer with 100 or morebegin delete employees,end deletebegin insert employees and a contract of 30 days or more,end insert prior to becoming a contractor or subcontractor with the state, to submit a nondiscrimination program to the Department of Fair Employment and Housing and to submit periodic reports no more than annually of its compliance with that program. The bill would authorize the department to require approval and certification of the program. The bill would permit the department to require an employer with fewer than 100 employeesbegin insert or a contract of less than 30 daysend insert to submit a nondiscrimination report. The bill would require the department to define an employee for these purposes. The bill would require the nondiscrimination program to include policies and procedures designed to ensure equal employment opportunities for all applicants and employees, an analysis of employment selection procedures, and abegin delete work forceend deletebegin insert workforceend insert analysis, as specified.begin insert The bill would specify that its provisions are not to be construed to negate certain exemptions established by regulation that predate its enactment or to require the department to reevaluate the validity of these exemptions, as specified.end insert The bill would make a statement of legislative findings.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

P2    1

SECTION 1.  

This act shall be known, and may be cited, as the
2Equal Pay for Equal Work Act of 2015.

3

SEC. 2.  

(a) The Legislature finds and declares the following:

4(1) According to data from the United States Census Bureau,
5full-time working women, on average, over the last decade, have
6continued to earn just 77 cents for every dollar a man earns. The
7wage gap is greater for women of color, with African American
8women being paid an average of 64 cents for every dollar paid to
9white, non-Hispanic men in 2013 and Latinas being paid just 56
10cents for every dollar paid to white, non-Hispanic men.

11(2) This wage disparity amounted to a yearly average wage gap
12of $10,876 in 2013 between full-time working men and full-time
13working women. In total, the disparity represents more than $490
14billion in lost wages for working women every year.

15(3) Disparities in pay for women have numerous negative
16impacts. This pay differential shortchanges women and their
17families by thousands of dollars a year and potentially hundreds
18of thousands of dollars over a lifetime. Nearly 4 in 10 mothers are
19primary breadwinners in their households, and nearly two-thirds
P3    1are significant earners, making pay equity critical to the economic
2security of their families.

3(4) Equal pay for equal work is a fundamental precept in our
4nation and in California. Federal law, including the federal Equal
5Pay Act of 1963 (Public Law 88-38), Title VII of the Civil Rights
6Act of 1964 (Public Law 88-352), and Executive Order 11246 of
7September 24, 1965, entitled Equal Employment Opportunity,
8specifically prohibits arbitrarily compensating men and women
9differently for the same work, as does California’s Equal Pay Act.

10(5) On August 6, 2014, the United States Department of Labor’s
11Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs issued a notice
12of proposed rulemaking to required covered federal contractors
13and subcontractors with more than 100 employees to submit an
14annual equal pay report on employee compensation. In California,
15state contractors receiving public money are obligated to comply
16with equal pay laws and should provide the state with aggregate
17wage data to advance pay equity.

18(b) It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this act to
19promote pay equity and nondiscrimination in setting pay and
20making hiring or promotional decisions, and to obtain better data
21on pay equity to more wholly address the problem.

22

SEC. 3.  

Section 12990 of the Government Code is amended
23to read:

24

12990.  

(a) Any employer who is, or wishes to become, a
25contractor with the state for public works or for goods or services
26is subject to the provisions of this part relating to discrimination
27in employment and to the nondiscrimination requirements of this
28section and any rules and regulations that implement it.

29(b) (1) begin insert(A)end insertbegin insertend insert Prior to becoming a contractor or subcontractor
30with the state, an employer with 100 or more employeesbegin insert and a
31contract of 30 days or moreend insert
shall submit a nondiscrimination
32program to the department and shall submit periodic reports, no
33more than annually, of its compliance with that program. An
34employer with fewer than 100 employeesbegin insert or a contract of less than
3530 daysend insert
may be required to submit a nondiscrimination program
36and, if so required, shall comply with the requirements for
37employers with 100 or more employees. The department may
38require approval and certification of a nondiscrimination program.
39The department shall define an employee for the purposes of this
40paragraph.

begin insert

P4    1(B) The changes made to this subdivision made by the act adding
2this subparagraph shall not be construed to negate an exemption
3to the requirements of this section in existence on January 1, 2016,
4created by the department through the exercise of its regulatory
5authority, or to otherwise require the department to reinterpret
6the validity of an exemption as a result of these changes.

end insert

7(2) A nondiscrimination program shall include policies and
8procedures designed to ensure equal employment opportunities
9for all applicants and employees, an analysis of employment
10selection procedures, and abegin delete work forceend deletebegin insert workforceend insert analysis. The
11begin delete work forceend deletebegin insert workforceend insert analysis shall include the following:

12(A) begin deleteAn equal pay report that includes the end deletebegin insertThe end inserttotal number of
13workers with a specific job category identified by worker race,
14ethnicity, andbegin delete gender.end deletebegin insert sex.end insert

15(B) Total wages required to be reported on Internal Revenue
16Service Form W-2 for all workers in a specific job category
17identified by worker race, ethnicity, andbegin delete gender.end deletebegin insert sex.end insert

18(C) The total hours worked on an annual basis for all workers
19in a specific job category identified by worker race, ethnicity, and
20begin delete gender.end deletebegin insert sex.end insert Exempt employees shall be presumed to work 40
21hours a week for purposes of this reporting requirement.

22(c) Every state contract and subcontract for public works or for
23goods or services shall contain a nondiscrimination clause
24prohibiting discrimination on the bases enumerated in this part by
25contractors or subcontractors. The nondiscrimination clause shall
26contain a provision requiring contractors and subcontractors to
27give written notice of their obligations under that clause to labor
28organizations with which they have a collective bargaining or other
29agreement. These contractual provisions shall be fully and
30effectively enforced. This subdivision does not apply to a credit
31card purchase of goods of two thousand five hundred dollars
32($2,500) or less. The total amount of exemption authorized herein
33shall not exceed seven thousand five hundred dollars ($7,500) per
34year for each company from which a state agency is purchasing
35goods by credit card. It shall be the responsibility of each state
36agency to monitor the use of this exemption and adhere to these
37restrictions on these purchases.

38(d) The department shall periodically develop rules and
39regulations for the application and implementation of this section,
40and submit them to the council for consideration and adoption in
P5    1accordance with the provisions of Chapter 3.5 (commencing with
2Section 11340) of Part 1. Those rules and regulations shall describe
3and include, but not be limited to, all of the following:

4(1) Procedures for the investigation, approval, certification,
5decertification, monitoring, and enforcement of nondiscrimination
6programs.

7(2) The size of contracts or subcontracts below which any
8particular provision of this section shall not apply.

9(3) The circumstances, if any, under which a contractor or
10subcontractor is not subject to this section.

11(4) Criteria for determining the appropriate plant, region,
12division, or other unit of a contractor’s or subcontractor’s operation
13for which a nondiscrimination program is required.

14(5) Procedures for coordinating the nondiscrimination
15requirements of this section and its implementing rules and
16regulations with the California Plan for Equal Opportunity in
17Apprenticeship, with the provisions and implementing regulations
18of Article 9.5 (commencing with Section 11135) of Chapter 1 of
19Part 1, and with comparable federal laws and regulations
20concerning nondiscrimination, equal employment opportunity,
21and affirmative action by those who contract with the United States.

22(6) The basic principles and standards to guide the department
23in administering and implementing this section.

24(e) Where a contractor or subcontractor is required to prepare
25an affirmative action, equal employment, or nondiscrimination
26program subject to review and approval by a federal compliance
27agency, that program may be filed with the department, instead of
28any nondiscrimination program regularly required by this section
29or its implementing rules and regulations. Such a program shall
30constitute a prima facie demonstration of compliance with this
31section. Where the department or a federal compliance agency has
32required the preparation of an affirmative action, equal
33employment, or nondiscrimination program subject to review and
34approval by the department or a federal compliance agency,
35evidence of such a program shall also constitute prima facie
36compliance with an ordinance or regulation of any city, city and
37county, or county that requires an employer to submit such a
38program to a local awarding agency for its approval prior to
39becoming a contractor or subcontractor with that agency.

P6    1(f) Where the department determines and certifies that the
2provisions of this section or its implementing rules and regulations
3are violated or determines a contractor or subcontractor is engaging
4in practices made unlawful under this part, the department may
5recommend appropriate sanctions to the awarding agency. Any
6such recommendation shall take into account the severity of the
7violation or violations and any other penalties, sanctions, or
8remedies previously imposed.



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