In January, the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) announced that it would publish additional resources to assist employers with SB 973, and on February 1, it delivered — posting a detailed 67-page User Guide, report templates and additional guidance on its pay data reporting FAQ page.
Updated February 24, 2021: Considering the COVID-19 pandemic and the fact that the pay data reporting requirement is new this year in California, the DFEH is accepting enforcement deferral requests with respect to the March 31, 2021, deadline. Employers who may have trouble meeting the deadline can ask the DFEH to defer enforcement by going to the pay data reporting website, which now has an “Enforcement Deferral Request” option. The request must be submitted before March 31, 2021. The DFEH has said it will defer enforcement until April 30, 2021, giving employers an extra month to submit their reports.
As previously reported, the DFEH has been busy posting guidance to assist employers in complying with California’s new law requiring employers with 100 or more employees, and subject to federal EEO-1 reporting, to report certain pay data information to the DFEH by March 31, 2021.
The recently released User Guide addresses all the specifics of reporting, including the basic structure of the pay data report, how to access and use the submission portal, and how to build and submit the report using an Excel or CSV file. The DFEH provides both an Excel template and a CSV example file with instructions and example reports from single and multi-establishment businesses. The DFEH recommends using an Excel or CSV file, but employers can also manually enter the information into the portal’s fillable form. The DFEH will not accept email or hard copy reports.
The DFEH’s latest guidance addresses reporting issues related to the use of Professional Employer Organizations (PEOs) and acquisitions, mergers and spinoffs.
The DFEH expects to have the Pay Reporting Portal available on February 16, 2021.
Employers should review the new User Guide and templates so they can start building their reports as the March 31 deadline is approaching quickly. Employers can access all of the DFEH’s pay data reporting resources on its Pay Data Reporting page.
James W. Ward, Employment Law Subject Matter Expert/Legal Writer and Editor
CalChamber members can read more about EEO Reporting Requirements in the HR Library. Not a member? See how CalChamber can help you.
