Employers in California with more than 100 employees would have to make pay data public and break it down by race, ethnicity, and sex under a new state Senate Bill.

The goal is to close the wage gap through transparency, says SB 1162‘s author, Sen. Monique Limón, a Santa Barbara Democrat.

“Pay transparency is key to achieving pay equity. SB 1162 will help identify the gender and race-based pay disparities by requiring pay transparency at every stage of the employment process, from hiring, to promotion, and ongoing employment,” said Limón in a news release.

“We must increase pay transparency in order to close the gender and racial wage gap, which prevents women, particularly women of color, from achieving economic security.”

Bill Builds on 2019 Pay Data Reporting Law

Equal Rights Advocates, a nonprofit, is a sponsor of the bill.

“California has led the nation on equal pay protections and this bill is the next logical step to continue that progress and keep forging a path for other states to follow,” said Jessica Ramey Stender, policy director-deputy legal director at Equal Rights Advocates.

In 2019, a new California law required employers with more than 100 employees to submit pay data reports to the Department of Fair Employment and Housing. However, the law doesn’t require public disclosure of the data.

SB 1162 is co-authored by Assemblymember Cristina Garcia (D-Bell Gardens and Sen. Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley. Garcia chairs the California Legislative Women’s Caucus and Skinner is the vice-chair.