A new law going into effect Jan 1 only means more hoops for California employers to jump through — as well as an extra layer of liability.

That’s the assessment from an article prepared by Fresno law firm Barsamian & Moody on the Farm Employers Labor Service website. It warrants the attention of business owners with more than 15 employees.

SB 1162 has two components that mandate “wage transparency.” The first requires employers to provide pay scale information to all job candidates and current employees. The second expands pay data reporting requirements to allegedly better identify gender and race-based pay disparities, according to the article.

Failure to comply with the new wage disclosures rules could result in penalties up to $10,000 per violation, according to the article.

Employers who fail to file pay data reports can also face civil penalties up to $100 per employer for initial failures and $200 per employee for subsequent failures. The first report is due May 10, 2023 for 2022 data, according to the article.

The article also warns that employers should start acting now to ensure compliance.

“Although there are penalties for not complying with the new requirements, the greatest liability can be found in the substance of the pay data being reported. Auditing pay data now can reveal pay disparities that employers did not know existed. It is imperative that such disparities be addressed as soon as possible to avoid a civil suit or a class charge of discrimination,” according to the article.