Wages: behavioral health and medical-surgical employees.

Senator Wiener's proposal requires large medical groups and health plans with over 3.5 million enrollees to report compensation data for behavioral health and medical-surgical employees to the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR). The measure establishes a framework for analyzing potential wage disparities between these worker categories while maintaining data confidentiality.

Under the bill, covered employers must submit detailed compensation information for employees in behavioral health roles, including psychologists, psychiatric nurses, and substance abuse counselors, as well as medical-surgical staff such as physician assistants, occupational therapists, and surgical nurses. The DIR will analyze this data in consultation with the Departments of Health Care Access and Information and Managed Health Care to identify any compensation differences between similarly situated positions. By January 2027, the department must present these findings to the Legislature in an aggregated report that protects individual salary information.

The measure includes enforcement provisions allowing the DIR to seek compliance orders and recover associated costs from non-reporting employers. Courts may impose penalties of up to $100 per employee for initial violations and $200 for subsequent infractions. While the reporting requirements sunset in 2031, the collected data remains confidential, with access restricted to specified state departments to prevent interference with healthcare market pricing mechanisms.