Equal Pay Act Attorney in San Diego

Individual & Class Action Equal Pay Claims for California Workers

California’s Equal Pay Act, codified at Labor Code section 1197.5, prohibits employers from paying workers less than their counterparts of a different sex, race, or ethnicity for substantially similar work. When that prohibition is violated, the consequences extend beyond one paycheck. At Zakay Law Group, we represent San Diego workers in both individual equal pay claims and class action cases where pay discrimination runs through an entire workforce. We represent California workers exclusively and have recovered over $160 million across thousands of cases.

If you suspect your employer is paying you less than a colleague of a different sex, race, or ethnicity for the same type of work, you don’t need certainty before you call. A free consultation gives you a clear picture of whether you have a viable claim and what pursuing it can look like.

Contact Zakay Law Group to speak with an equal pay act attorney at no cost. Consultations are available by phone, in person, or virtually. Call (619) 353-8032 to get started.

What Qualifies as an Equal Pay Violation Under California Law

The law doesn’t require identical job titles. Substantially similar work is assessed as a composite of skill, effort, and responsibility performed under similar working conditions. A female project manager and a male project manager with the same duties qualify for comparison even if their titles differ slightly. Covered protected categories include sex (including gender identity and gender expression), race, and ethnicity.

What counts as “wages” is broader than most workers realize:

• Base salary and hourly pay
• Overtime, bonuses, and profit sharing
• Stock options and benefits
• Vacation pay, travel reimbursements, and allowances

Employees can compare their pay to workers at a different company location. The comparison doesn’t have to be within the same office. Employers also can’t use prior salary history to justify a pay gap tied to a protected characteristic.

To defeat an equal pay claim, an employer must prove the wage difference stems entirely from a bona fide factor other than a protected characteristic, such as a documented seniority system, a merit program, or measurable differences in education or production. Partial justification isn’t enough. The factor must account for the entire disparity. Each paycheck that reflects unequal pay is a separate violation for statute of limitations purposes.

What San Diego Workers Can Recover

A successful equal pay claim can recover back pay for the full period of the wage disparity, interest on that amount, and liquidated damages equal to the back pay recovered. Under SB 642, which took effect January 1, 2026, workers have three years from the last violation date to file a claim and may recover up to six years of accumulated wage disparity. That expanded window means workers who stayed silent for years may still have meaningful recovery options.

If an employer retaliates against a worker for asserting equal pay rights, that retaliation is its own separate violation. Under SB-497, which took effect January 1, 2024, an adverse action taken within 90 days of protected equal pay activity creates a rebuttable presumption of retaliation. A civil penalty of up to $10,000 per violation may apply, and attorney fees and costs are recoverable when the employee prevails.

When an Equal Pay Case Becomes a Class Action

Pay discrimination rarely affects just one person. When an employer’s pay practices are built into company-wide classification systems or compensation policies, workers subject to those policies may have a claim. A class action equal pay case allows one employee’s experience to serve as the foundation for representing a large group of workers who faced the same discrimination at the same employer.

Class action equal pay cases are a core part of our practice. We’ve served as lead counsel in numerous class actions involving employers in healthcare, hospitality, retail, staffing, and transportation, and we collaborate with larger law firms when a case requires pooled resources to take on a major corporate defendant. Our attorneys are admitted to practice in all California state courts, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, and the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, which means we can pursue claims under both California and federal law without referring either component to outside counsel.