San Francisco was among the first cities in the United States to address pay equity through local ordinance. The San Francisco Pay Equity Ordinance, originally enacted in 2014 and subsequently updated, imposes requirements on San Francisco employers that go beyond California's statewide SB 1162. This guide explains both layers of obligation and what TA and legal teams operating in San Francisco need to know.
See also:
- California SB 1162: Statewide requirements — applies to all San Francisco employers with 15+ employees
- Los Angeles Pay Transparency
Statewide foundation: SB 1162 applies in San Francisco
All San Francisco employers with 15 or more employees — anywhere globally — must comply with California SB 1162. This requires every job posting to include the pay scale (salary or hourly range). Penalties: $100–$10,000 per violation.
San Francisco Pay Equity Ordinance — additional requirements
The San Francisco Pay Equity Ordinance (Administrative Code Chapter 12P, updated 2020) applies to employers with 50 or more employees who do business with the City and County of San Francisco (including city contractors and certain businesses holding city permits). Key requirements:
- Annual pay equity analysis: Employers must conduct an annual analysis of pay practices to identify and remediate gender-based pay inequities within occupational categories.
- Written policies: Employers must maintain a written pay equity policy and make it available to employees.
- Prohibition on salary history: San Francisco employers may not ask applicants about prior salary history, and may not use salary history to set compensation. This predates California's statewide prohibition.
- Reporting: City contractors may be required to submit pay equity certifications as part of their contract compliance obligations.
Salary history ban
San Francisco has prohibited asking about or using applicant salary history since 2018. This means:
- Do not ask candidates for their current or prior salary in applications, interviews, or screening
- Do not use salary history to set an offer — use the pay scale for the role
- If a candidate voluntarily discloses salary history, you may not use it to set compensation
Practical checklist for SF employers
- ✓ Include pay scale in all job postings (SB 1162)
- ✓ Remove all salary history questions from applications and interview guides
- ✓ Conduct annual pay equity analysis by occupational category and gender
- ✓ Maintain a written pay equity policy accessible to all employees
- ✓ If a city contractor: review contract compliance obligations for pay equity certification
How RoleComply helps SF employers
RoleComply checks every San Francisco-applicable job posting for SB 1162 compliance — missing pay ranges, salary history language in postings, and non-compliant EEO statements. It also flags postings that reference salary history requirements, which are prohibited under both SF ordinance and California law.
What San Francisco employers must do
The Pay Equity Ordinance requires employers to include salary ranges in job postings in San Francisco. The SF Office of Labor Standards Enforcement is the authoritative source for compliance guidance and enforcement updates. Employers with any hiring activity in California should treat pay range disclosure as non-negotiable.
Audit every active posting. Review all roles advertised in San Francisco — on your own careers page, LinkedIn, Indeed, Glassdoor, and through any staffing agencies. Every posting needs a salary range. Check that your range is genuine — regulators and candidates alike can identify placeholder-wide ranges that bear no connection to actual pay.
Establish pay bands. A range on a job posting is only defensible if it connects to a documented compensation structure. Build pay bands for each role or level, benchmark against market data, and document the factors that explain variation within each band (experience, skills, location). This documentation protects you in enforcement situations and in employee conversations.
Train your recruiting team. Front-line recruiters need to understand what is required and what is prohibited. "Competitive salary", "DOE", salary history questions, and ranges that do not match the actual hiring budget are the most common violations — and all of them are preventable with basic training and updated posting templates.
Penalties and enforcement
Enforcement of US pay transparency laws has accelerated since 2023. New York City has issued fines ranging from $15,000 to over $250,000 for single violations. California's Civil Rights Department investigates complaints and requires remediation. The pattern is consistent across jurisdictions: initial enforcement targets large employers with visible non-compliance, then expands to mid-market companies as regulators build capacity. See our US state law roundup for current requirements across all states, or read our salary range best practices guide to learn how to write ranges that satisfy multiple state requirements simultaneously.
