This article provides instructions for creating and populating the California Pay Data Report, a feature within the core HR module. To explore further functionality and related features that come with the HR module, please see the 'Additional Resources' section at the end of the article.
California employers with 100+ employees must annually report pay and hours-worked data by establishment, job category, sex (female, male, non-binary), race, and ethnicity to the California Civil Rights Department. Reporting uses Excel or CSV files, with detailed instructions for updating employee EEO info and generating reports via the HR system. Completed files are submitted through the California Pay Data Reporting website.
California Pay Data Reporting Information
Populating the California Pay Data Report
California Pay Data Reporting Information
- California employers of 100 or more employees must report pay and hours-worked data by establishment, job category, sex, race, and ethnicity to the California Civil Rights Department (CRD) annually. This reporting is required under Government Code section 12999, enacted in SB 973.
- Formats for Downloaded Electronic File: California provides two file options that can be uploaded to their website: Excel and CSV. We have provided an Excel download for this. The CSV download will be available in the future.
- Website: This is the California Pay Data Reporting Website for your reference that includes User Guide, FAQs, reporting portal, and more: https://www.dfeh.ca.gov/paydatareporting/
- Gender: California officially recognizes three genders: female, male, and non-binary. Therefore, please report employees' sex according to these three categories. UKG does not currently support the non-binary reporting features, so modifications can be made in the electronic file to account for employees claiming non-binary identity or currently categorized as male or female on their employee record.
- Section I – Employer Information: Can be found and completed directly in the Excel electronic file once it has been created and downloaded.
- Wages: Will look at Box 5 on the W-2. If any employee has wages not reported in Box 5, as may be the case for an H-2A visa holder, for example, use W-2 Box 1 for that employee and note this in the associated remarks field. If Box 5 on W-2 is null, it will pull wages from Box 1. Any manual edits for W-2c can be made on the downloaded file.
- Use of Commas: Per the California DFEH instructions, commas are used to separate columns in a .CSV file. For that reason, do not include additional commas in any of your provided values (names, addresses, comments, etc.). When a comma is entered into any field in Section II.A – Establishment Information, you will receive an “Invalid [Name of Field]. Could not save. Some information entered was not correct. Please fix all errors and try again.” Please remove the prohibited comma character and re-save.
Employee EEO Information
- Go to Menu> Team > My Team > Employee Information.
- Toggle the report to 'EEO Info'. If you do not see this report, you can use an available report and add the needed columns, such as Employee Type, EEO Classification, Ethnicity, and Gender.
- Review the EEO Info report for any employees with missing Employee Type, EEO Classification, Ethnicity or Gender. These fields are required for all employees in order for the EEO report to populate correctly.
- You can filter for employees who are missing these needed items by adding a filter 'Is Null' to easily see who needs to be updated.
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Update any missing information in the employee profile by selecting the Employee Information icon
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- Gender and Ethnicity can be updated in the Account Demographics Widget on the Employee’s profile.
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Employee Type and EEO Classification can be updated in the Pay Information Widget on the Employee’s profile.
- These fields can also be imported if there are too many to update manually.
Populating the California Pay Data Report
- Once all the EEO information is up to date, go to Menu > Team > HR > Forms > Government Forms > California Pay Data.
- Select the Add New button on the top right of the page.
- Complete the information in Section II - Establishment Information, then click the Process Data button.
- A window will pop up to select the report settings. Select the EIN (if applicable), Cost Centers, Account Statuses, and Employee Types to include in the report, and then click the SAVE button
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A. Workforce Snapshot From - Select the date range to capture your workforce for inclusion in the form, typically dates from October 1 through December 31 of the previous year.
B. Include Synchronized Employees - If multi-EIN, includes synchronized employees (those employees being synced between EINs).
C. EIN (if applicable) - Select the EIN for which data will be collected.
D. Cost Centers (available options vary) - Select the cost centers for which data will be collected (optional). The feature pulls from the employee's current assignment. Modifications can be made in the electronic file if an employee should be moved to a different cost center.
E. Account Status (available options vary) - Select the account status of the employees that should be included in the report. Terminated employees can be included in the snapshot, but they will not include terminated employees before the snapshot period.
F. Employee Type (available options vary) - Select the employee type that should be included in the report
G. Optional Fields - NEW FOR 2025 Reporting: Columns Exemption Status (Column O) and Employment Type (Column P) are optional for reporting. When checked, these fields are required and automatically populated by the system. When unchecked, the columns remain blank. This gives you control over whether these columns are included in your report and ensures that report generation is not blocked for employees who do not have values in these fields.
- After saving the form, click View Details to see which employees are or are not included in the file and why.
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NOTE 1: If the employee's EEO information is incomplete or the Gender field is marked as U, the employee will not be captured on the details page. Individuals with U in the Gender field will need to be added to the electronic file after all of the other information has been populated. Guidelines for documenting these fields can be found on the 'Instructions' tab of the electronic file. NOTE 2: If you checked the new optional fields (Column O & P), make sure that all applicable employees have a properly configured Employee Type. This requires both FLSA Status and Full/Part-Time values to be defined under Settings > Global Setup > Global List Definitions > Employee Types |
- The details can be downloaded as a PDF by clicking the Download File button.
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Once the form is completed, saved, and ready, you can use the Download File button to create the file used to electronically file on the State of California's website. This will download the Excel file where you can complete Section II. A - Employer Information and make any manual edits as needed to Section II.A -Establishment Information or Section II.B Employee Detail (for non-binary gender, etc.).
- If you are a Multi-EIN, you will create multiple forms, process the data for each, then go back to the report page, Team > HR > Forms > California Pay Data.
- Select all the establishment forms, then download the files. This will merge the data from all your establishments into one downloadable form.
- The Excel download file contains the PayDataReport tab, which contains data populated from the fillable form. Additional tabs for instructions and examples are also available.
- Once the file is complete and all necessary information has been added or adjusted, please visit the California Pay Data Reporting Website to submit the report.
FAQs:
- Q: Can I import more than once? A: Yes, employee or nonemployee data can be imported multiple times. The latest imported record for an employee or nonemployee becomes the information included in the data file. While reimporting data for employees and nonemployees, it is required to make sure to use the same EEID and NEID, respectively.Q: Where can I find more information about filing the California Pay Data Report? A: To find more information about filing the California Pay Data report for your organization, refer to the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing's website: https://www.dfeh.ca.gov/paydatareporting/
Q: Is there a report you can generate to check that the rates used are accurate, or how can you validate the numbers?
A: The hourly rates are determined by dividing the box 5 Medicare wages on the W2 by the total work hours YTD for the employees in the category on the form. You could export a W2 report that includes a column for Box 5, and cross-reference a payroll history report that gives you total work hours YTD
Additional Resources
Certification and Training, Education, and Credentials Guide