California Equal Pay Act - California Labor Code § 1197.5

1197.5.  (a) No employer shall pay any individual in the employer's

employ at wage rates less than the rates paid to employees of the

opposite sex in the same establishment for equal work on jobs the

performance of which requires equal skill, effort, and

responsibility, and which are performed under similar working

conditions, except where the payment is made pursuant to a seniority

system, a merit system, a system which measures earnings by quantity

or quality of production, or a differential based on any bona fide

factor other than sex.

   (b) Any employer who violates subdivision (a) is liable to the

employee affected in the amount of the wages, and interest thereon,

of which the employee is deprived by reason of the violation, and in

an additional equal amount as liquidated damages.

   (c) The provisions of this section shall be administered and

enforced by the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement.  If the

division finds that an employer  has violated this section, it may

supervise the payment of wages and interest found to be  due and

unpaid to employees under subdivision (a).  Acceptance of payment in

full made by an employer and approved by the division shall

constitute a waiver on the part of the employee of the employee's

cause of action under subdivision (g).

   (d) Every employer shall maintain records of the wages and wage

rates, job classifications, and other terms and conditions of

employment of the persons employed by the employer.  All of the

records shall be kept on file for a period of two years.

   (e) Any employee may file a complaint with the division that the

wages paid are less than the wages to which the employee is entitled

under subdivision (a).  These complaints shall be investigated as

provided in subdivision (b) of Section 98.7.  The name of any

employee who submits to the division a complaint regarding an alleged

violation of subdivision (a) shall be kept confidential by the

division until validity of the complaint is established by the

division, or unless the confidentiality must be abridged by the

division in order to investigate the complaint.  The name of the

complaining employee shall remain confidential if the complaint is

withdrawn before the confidentiality is abridged by the division.

The division shall take all proceedings necessary to enforce the

payment of any sums found to be due and unpaid to these employees.

   (f) The department or division may commence and prosecute, unless

otherwise requested by the employee or affected group of employees, a

civil action on behalf of the employee and on behalf of a similarly

affected group of employees to recover unpaid wages and liquidated

damages under subdivision (a), and in addition shall be entitled to

recover costs of suit.  The consent of any employee to the bringing

of any action shall constitute a waiver on the part of the employee

of the employee's cause of action under subdivision (g) unless the

action is dismissed without prejudice by the department or the

division, except that the employee may intervene in the suit or may

initiate independent action if the suit has not been determined

within 180 days from the date of the filing of the complaint.

   (g) Any employee receiving less than the wage to which the

employee is entitled under this section may recover in a civil action

the balance of the wages, including interest thereon, and an equal

amount as liquidated damages, together with the costs of the suit and

reasonable attorney's fees, notwithstanding any agreement to work

for a lesser wage.

   (h) A civil action to recover wages under subdivision (a) may be

commenced no later than two years after the cause of action occurs,

except that a cause of action arising out of a willful violation may

be commenced no later than three years after the cause of action

occurs.

   (i) If an employee recovers amounts due the employee under

subdivision (b), and also files a complaint or brings an action under

subdivision (d) of Section 206 of Title 29 of the United States Code

which results in an additional recovery under federal law for the

same violation, the employee shall return to the employer the amounts

recovered under subdivision (b), or the amounts recovered under

federal law, whichever is less.