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California salary transparency: the pay transparency law and job posting salary ranges

California employers with 15 or more employees must publish a pay scale in every job posting, and since January 1, 2026 that pay scale has to be a good faith estimate of what the employer actually expects to pay the person hired. Employers of any size must give an applicant or a current employee the pay scale on request, and separate rules require employers with 100 or more employees to file an annual pay data report.

This page covers who is covered, what a compliant California pay scale looks like, what changed in 2026, the penalties, and how to build a posted range you can defend. Build one below in about a minute.

Last updated July 2026 / General information, not legal advice

Pay band builder Sample data
02 · Market
03 · Seniority
04 · Company stage
No. / At a glance / 01

California pay transparency, in one table

Obligation Who it covers What you must do Exposure
Pay scale in job postings 15 or more employees, with at least one in California Include the salary or hourly range in every posting, including ones a recruiter or job board publishes for you. $100 to $10,000 per violation
Pay scale on request Any size employer Give an applicant the pay scale for the role after an initial interview, and a current employee the pay scale for their own role. $100 to $10,000 per violation
Salary history ban Any size employer Do not ask about, or rely on, an applicant's prior pay. You may consider a voluntarily disclosed figure. Civil action
Records retention Any size employer Keep job title and wage rate history for each employee for employment plus three years. Rebuttable presumption against you if records are missing
Annual pay data report 100 or more employees (counted nationwide) File pay, demographic and hours data with the Civil Rights Department by the second Wednesday in May. $100 per employee, $200 per employee for a repeat failure

Sources: California Labor Code section 432.3 and Government Code section 12999, as amended by SB 1162 and SB 464. Thresholds and penalties are summarized here for planning, not as legal advice.

No. / 2026 changes / 02

What changed on January 1, 2026

01

Pay scale now means a good faith estimate

The statute now defines pay scale as the good faith estimate of the salary or hourly wage range the employer reasonably expects to pay for the position upon hire. The practical effect is that a $60,000 to $300,000 range on a single mid-level posting is no longer defensible. Ranges have to be tied to what you would really pay.

02

Demographic data kept separately

Employers subject to pay data reporting must collect and store the demographic information used in the report separately from personnel files, which pushes most teams to keep a standing comp and demographic dataset rather than rebuilding it every spring. The filing itself is covered in our California pay data reporting guide.

03

Penalties for a missing report became mandatory

Under SB 464, signed in October 2025, a court must impose penalties when the Civil Rights Department requests them for a failure to file: $100 per employee for a first failure and $200 per employee after that. Discretion to waive the fine is gone.

No. / Method / 03

How to build a California pay scale you can defend

Good faith is an evidentiary standard, so the safe version of a posted range is one with a paper trail: a market source, a date, and a documented reason for every adjustment. The four steps below are the ones a Labor Commissioner inquiry actually tests.

  1. Step 01

    Benchmark the role against market percentiles

    Start from percentile wage data for the occupation and the California metro you hire in, not from a competitor's job ad. Public BLS OES data gives you P25, P50 and P75 by metro area, which is the same shape of evidence a regulator understands.

  2. Step 02

    Set the band, then slice the posted range from it

    Build the internal band first (typically a 30 to 50 percent spread around the midpoint), then publish the slice you would genuinely pay a new hire at that level. The internal band can be wider than the posted range. The posted range cannot be wider than your honest intent.

  3. Step 03

    Write down why you adjusted

    Geographic tier, company stage, scarcity of the skill: any of these can move a band, and all of them are defensible if they are written down and applied consistently. An undocumented adjustment applied to one candidate is the fact pattern that turns into a pay equity claim.

  4. Step 04

    Refresh on a fixed cadence

    A good faith estimate made against three-year-old data stops being good faith. Review bands at least annually, more often for engineering and sales roles, and keep the old versions so you can show what you knew when you posted.

Do it now

Wagelist turns a role, a market, a seniority level and a company stage into a P25/P50/P75 band and a posting-ready range built on public U.S. BLS wage data, with the methodology attached. Use the builder at the top of this page, or read the full method behind salary bands.

See how posted ranges work
No. / Context / 04

How California compares to the other posting states

If you hire across state lines, California is strict on scope (any posting, any third party) but not the strictest on content. Colorado still asks for the most in a single ad.

State Employer threshold Must the ad show pay? Benefits disclosure?
California 15 or more Yes, pay scale in the posting No
Colorado Any employer with a Colorado role Yes, pay or pay range Yes, general benefits description
New York 4 or more Yes, compensation range No, but job description if one exists
Washington 15 or more Yes, wage scale or salary range Yes, general benefits description
Illinois 15 or more Yes, pay scale and benefits Yes

The practical answer for a multi-state employer is one national band per role and level, with a documented geographic multiplier, so every posted range comes out of the same structure. The full state-by-state breakdown lives in our guide to pay transparency laws by state.

No. / FAQ / 05

California pay transparency questions

Does California require salary ranges in job postings?

Yes. Employers with 15 or more employees must include the pay scale in any job posting, including postings a recruiter or job board publishes on their behalf. The pay scale is the salary or hourly wage range the employer reasonably expects to pay for that position. The rule sits in Labor Code section 432.3.

How many employees do you need for California pay transparency to apply?

Fifteen. The posting requirement applies once an employer has 15 or more employees and at least one of them works in California. The salary history ban and the duty to hand over the pay scale on request apply to California employers of any size, including a three-person company.

What is the penalty for not posting a salary range in California?

Civil penalties run from $100 to $10,000 per violation. The Labor Commissioner weighs whether the violation was repeated, and a first violation can be excused if the employer shows every affected posting was updated to include the pay scale. Employees and applicants can also bring a civil action.

Does the California pay scale law apply to remote jobs?

It applies when the job could be filled in California, which includes a remote role a California resident could perform. Because applicant location is hard to police at posting time, most multi-state employers simply put a range on every remote listing.

Do current employees have a right to their pay scale?

Yes. On request, an employer has to give a current employee the pay scale for the position that employee currently holds. Employers also have to keep job title and wage rate history for every employee for the length of employment plus three years, and a missing record works against the employer.

Who has to file a California pay data report?

Private employers with 100 or more payroll employees, counted nationwide rather than just in California, plus client employers with 100 or more labor contractor employees. Reports go to the Civil Rights Department by the second Wednesday in May. Our California pay data reporting guide walks through the filing itself.

No. / Related / 06

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