Authored by State Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson, the California Fair Pay Act (also known as SB358) is an amendment to the existing California labor laws that protects employees who want to discuss about their co-workers' wages as well as eliminating loopholes that allowed employers to justify inequalities in pay distribution between opposite sexes.
[1] Because of the vagueness of this law, employers are able to find loopholes and pay women in California much lower than their male co-workers.
On October 6, 2015, Governor Jerry Brown signed the bill into law and the amendment took effect on January 1, 2016.
It ensures to employees who perform "substantially similar work" but are paid differently to have equal pay.
[2] The key feature of SB358 is that it prevents employers from discriminating against its employees who seek to discuss, disclose, or inquire about their co-workers' pay.