CNBC: California job-seekers will soon see salary ranges on job postings

September 28. 2022

Policy Director & Deputy Legal Director Jessica Ramey Stender is featured in a CNBC article about a new bill that CA Gov. Newsom signed into law, SB 1162 (Senator Monique Limón), a Stronger California priority bill that ERA co-sponsored and led advocacy on, alongside partner organizations California Employment Lawyers Association, National Employment Law Project, and Tech Equity Collaborative.

“Women, and especially women of color, are literally being robbed of wages every year,” says Jessica Ramey Stender, the policy director and deputy legal director director at Equal Rights Advocates, a legal and advocacy nonprofit that co-sponsored the salary bill.

“That is money that could go to rent, food, diapers, education, retirement savings. So the time has really come for robust pay equity legislation here in California and beyond.”

Stender believes the California law will lead other states and cities to follow.

Stender says this “growing part of the modern workforce” [contracted employees] is often comprised of women and people of color who do the same work as direct-hire employees for less money. Reporting pay data based on job and demographic background can help uncover occupational segregation that employers may not be aware of.

“We believe this data can help companies comply with equal pay and anti-discrimination laws and have a more equitable workplace,” Stender says.

For example, say a company finds out through the data that their administrative staff, hired through a staffing agency, is 95% women, while their executive-level employees, hired directly into the company, are 95% men. When required to collect that data, “that should be a big eye-opener that they have a potential discrimination claim on their hands,” Stender says….

And because so many global and national companies are based in California, Stender says the new law already has a big impact beyond state lines.

Read the article.