On October 14th, 2017, Governor Brown signed Assembly Bill 46 which allows female public employees to press claims against wage discrimination. Earlier in October 2017, Brown signed the California Fair Pay Act (SB 358), which allowed private-sector female employees to press wage discrimination claims. Assembly Bill 46 extends these rights to excluded state employees.
Assemblyman Jim Cooper (AD 09) authored the bill and comments, “I authored AB 46 because not only am I the father of four women of color, but also because I believe it is important to lead by example and ensure that our pay equity laws apply to all sectors, both private and public.”
According to the Sacramento Bee, women in the state workforce earn about 79.5 cents on the dollar compared to their male counterparts, which constitutes a 16 percent gender wage gap. Cooper’s bill is an important piece of legislation that provides for fair pay adjustments for women throughout the state. Excluded employees can process wage discrimination claims through the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement.