Governor Brown recently signed into state law the following employment law bills (among others):

• SB 358—Referred to as the California Fair Pay Act, this law is directed at closing the pay differential between male and female employees, including prohibiting an employer from paying any of its employees at wage rates less than those paid to employees of the opposite sex for substantially similar work, when viewed as a composite of skill, effort, and responsibility, as specified.
• AB 1506—Amends the Private Attorneys General Act (“PAGA”) to allow employers a limited window to cure certain wage statement deficiencies before a PAGA action may be pursued.
• AB 1509—Prevents employers from retaliating against employees for being a family member of an employee who has, or is perceived to have, engaged in activities protected under certain Labor Code sections (mainly those addressing whistleblowing).

Much to the relief of employers, the governor vetoed a bill (AB 465) attempting to prohibit all mandatory pre-employment agreements to arbitrate Labor Code violations.

Please see our September 2015 issue for more details on the above and other new laws.