Law360, New York ( October 22, 2015, 11:10 AM EDT) -- The California Fair Pay Act amends Section 1197.5 of the California Labor Code by requiring employers in California to "not pay any of its employees at wage rates less than the rates paid to employees of the opposite sex for substantially similar work, when viewed as a composite of skill, effort, and responsibility, and performed under similar working conditions ..." However, a wage gap may be allowed if the employer is able to demonstrate that the differential is based upon one or more of the following factors: seniority system, merit system, quantity and quality of production, or a bona fide factor other than sex (such as education, training or experience) justifiable as a business necessity. Furthermore, employers must maintain records on wages and wage rates, and all other information on the jobs and explanatory factors for a period of three years. Importantly, the amendment to the original statute appears to drop the requirement that the comparator employees are in the same establishment. It should also be noted that the amendment requires the factors relied upon to account for the entire wage differential....