Employers who contract with the City of San Diego must pay employees equal wage rates for equal or substantially similar work, regardless of an employee’s gender, race or ethnicity. Chapter 2, Article 2, Division 48 of the San Diego Municipal Code, known as the “Equal Pay Ordinance.”

The City of San Diego’s Equal Pay Ordinance requires employers to comply with the California Equal Pay Act and Fair Pay Act, codified in the California Labor Code section 1197.5, which states in pertinent part: An employer shall not pay any of its employees at wage rates less than the rates paid to employees of the opposite sex or of another race or ethnicity for substantially similar work, when viewed as a composite of skill, effort and responsibility, and performed under similar working conditions, except where the employer demonstrates the wage differential is based upon one or more of the following factors: a seniority system, a merit system, a system that measures earnings by quantity or quality of production or a bona fide factor other than sex, such as education, training or experience.

Unless an exception applies, the Equal Pay Ordinance applies to all City of San Diego contracts awarded, entered into, or extended on or after Jan. 1, 2018. The Contract Compliance Unit, a division of the Purchasing & Contracting Department, ensures compliance with the Equal Pay Ordinance. The Contract Compliance Unit assists covered employers understand their obligations, monitors contracts, maintains records, conducts reviews, investigates complaints, and provides annual reports to the City Council.

For additional information, please contact:

Purchasing & Contracting Department
1200 Third Ave., Suite 200, MS 56P
San Diego, CA 92101
Email: EqualPay@sandiego.gov
Phone: 619-236-6000
Fax: 619-236-5904