california labor-law
In California is it legal to offer less to a senior developer than a non-senior developer
<p>So I've read about the Fair Pay Act, which is unclear if it also covers people of the same sex. I know it is not legal for the company to prohibit salary discussion between employees.</p>

<p>I am currently in a situation where someone of my current title (Software Developer) is making significantly more than me due to some nice negotiation skills. Right now I am in negotiations for my Senior position, however the first offer was an extreme low-ball as it would have me making less than the non-senior developer still. Does California have any legal coverage for such a situation?</p>

<p>Edit: Responses I got made me think the situation is unclear.</p>

<p>I am about to be promoted from Software Dev 2 to a Senior Dev 1. The other person is Software Dev 2, yet with the extra responsibilities and skill, they are offering me less than some one of a lesser title.</p>

<p>The core requirement of the <a href="https://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/California_Equal_Pay_Act.htm" rel="nofollow noreferrer">California Fair Pay Act</a> (2015) is that it requires equal pay for employees who perform "substantially similar work," when viewed as a composite of skill, effort, and responsibility.</p>

<p>If both employees are Software Developers at the same firm, the effort and responsibility might be similar, but the senior developer is almost surely considered to have more skill than the junior developer, so it is probably not a violation of the Fair Pay Act to pay more to the senior developer than to the junior developer.</p>
