Effective January 1, 2026, California added new requirements related to annual pay data reporting for large employers. Senate Bill 464 amends Labor Code section 12999, which requires that employers with 100 or more employees submit annual pay data reports. The amendment requires that employers store demographic data separately from employee personnel files, expands pay data reporting requirements, and provides for civil penalties for violations of Labor Code Section 12999.
The amendment goes into effect in two phases. The requirement that employers collect and store demographic information separately from employees’ personnel records took effect January 1, 2026. In addition, the amendment includes changes to civil penalties. When requested by the California’s Civil Rights Department, the courts will be required to impose civil penalties of one hundred dollars ($100) per employee, and two hundred dollars ($200) per employee for subsequent failure to file the required report.
Beginning January 1, 2027, the amendment expands the pay data reporting requirements to increase the number of job categories that employers must report on to more accurately measure the occupations that employees are employed in. Specifically, the amendment will expand the job categories from ten (10) to twenty-three (23). Employers will be required to report pay data to include the number of employees by race, and sex in each of the following categories:
- Chief executives.
- Management occupations, except chief executives.
- Business and financial operations occupations.
- Computer and mathematical occupations.
- Architecture and engineering occupations.
- Life, physical, and social science occupations.
- Community and social science occupations.
- Legal occupations.
- Educational instruction and library occupations.
- Art, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations.
- Health care practitioners and technical occupations.
- Health care support occupations.
- Protective service occupations.
- Food preparation and serving-related occupations.
- Building and ground cleaning and maintenance occupations.
- Personal care and service occupations.
- Sales and related occupations.
- Office and administrative support occupations.
- Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations.
- Construction and extraction occupations.
- Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations.
- Production occupations.
- Transportation and material moving occupations.
In anticipation of the 2027 reporting requirements, employers should start evaluating which of these 23 classifications their employees fall into, in order to prepare for these reporting requirements.
