Employers cannot look for salary history, nor can they rely on pay history when considering a job candidate or determining salary. However, you can confirm and rely on salary history after a job offer has been made to support a higher salary than originally offered. Employers must also provide a salary range for a particular position. Employers are not allowed to search for salary history. However, you can confirm this information if the applicant discloses it voluntarily or if an offer has been extended. Do you want to know when new salary history bans will be issued? Sign up for our newsletter. Do you have a question or comment? Send us an email. If you`re an employer, it`s important to be aware of the laws prohibiting payroll history in your area. These laws are designed to protect workers from discrimination and can help ensure that everyone has a fair chance to earn a living wage.
Yes. However, employers may only request information on salary history if required by applicable federal, state, or local law on January 6, 2020, when section 194-a of the Labor Code takes effect. The bottom line is this: don`t answer a question about salary history if your state or city prohibits employers from asking, and otherwise proceed with caution. It`s best to try to get the employer to make an offer before disclosing salary information. On February 6, 2020, the U.S. 3rd Court of Appeals ruled that Philadelphia could enforce its salary history ban and lift a lower court`s injunction. The city of Philadelphia announced its decision on September 6. It announced that its Human Relations Commission (HRCP) will begin enforcing the salary history ban on September 1, 2020. In the following states, it is illegal nationwide to request compensation history during the hiring process: All employers should review their applications and related processes, and train hiring staff to ensure compliance.
For example, an employer should remove questions about a candidate`s current or past salary from all applications, unless required by law. In addition, an employer may want to proactively state in job postings that it does not collect information about candidates` salary history. The California ban prohibits private and public employers from researching a candidate`s salary history. Even if an employer already has this information or a candidate voluntarily provides it, it still cannot be used to determine a new employee`s salary. The law also requires employers to provide jobseekers with information on the salary scale if they request it. Government agencies cannot request information about the salary history of job applicants and cannot rely on salary information previously received to determine compensation. Asking for the salary history of job applicants has been a fairly common practice for employers over the years. Recruiters and hiring managers often use this knowledge to exclude people from the candidate pool, either because the candidate is “too expensive” or because their previous salary is so low that hiring managers consider the person low-skilled or inexperienced.
Companies have also used previous salary information to calculate compensation for new hires – a process that can maintain the gender pay gap. To address this inequality, several states and municipalities have prohibited requesting prior salary information, although laws vary in duration, scope, and applicability. Employers cannot request a candidate`s pay history, including compensation and benefits, in an application or otherwise. Employers are also not allowed to search publicly available records. Finally, employers should not rely on known information on salary history to determine compensation. Before applying for a new job, find out about your state`s laws regarding salary history. Even if employers are allowed to ask, you don`t have to answer. You should weigh the implications associated with refusing to answer (not getting the job) against the potential wage discrimination you may face if you provide the information. Laws aim to break the cycle of wage discrimination, and some go beyond simply prohibiting questions about pay history. Some also prohibit an employer from relying on a candidate`s salary history to determine compensation if it is discovered or voluntarily reported. Others prohibit an employer from taking disciplinary action against employees who talk to their co-workers about compensation. Employers are not allowed to screen candidates based on their salary history.
Employers cannot require that an applicant`s previous wages, wages or benefits meet minimum or maximum criteria. If a candidate voluntarily discloses salary history without the employer`s request or coercion, an employer may review the candidate`s salary history and also consider the salary history to determine the candidate`s salary, benefits and other compensation. Once the candidate has received an offer of employment that includes an explanation of the total compensation, an employer may ask the candidate to provide a written power of attorney confirming the salary history. New Jersey agencies and offices are prohibited from asking applicants for their compensation history or investigating candidates` past salaries. Employers cannot obtain a salary history or refuse to hire, interview, promote or employ candidates who do not provide a salary history. Employers must provide a salary range to candidates who have been interviewed for positions, and they must disclose the salary or salary range or rate in certain cases of promotion or transfer. Employers can ask candidates about their salary expectations. Employers are not allowed to obtain a salary history, including benefits or other compensation. However, employers can discuss candidates` salary expectations. One way for employers to get around these legal hurdles is to educate you about your salary expectations and force you to indicate your salary range.
If you have a history of unfairly low wages, it can be hard to know what to ask. Illinois` governor said the state would no longer ask potential employees about salary history. District government agencies are prohibited from asking applicants for their salary history unless a candidate approaches them after renewing a job offer. Employers can only request a candidate`s salary history after a job offer has been renewed. Employers are also prohibited from using past compensation to determine compensation, except for current employees who change positions with the same employer. Employers cannot apply for or assess candidates based on their salary history. You cannot require that a candidate`s salary history, performance or other compensation meet minimum or maximum criteria. However, employers can discuss candidates` salary expectations.
Employers cannot refuse to hire, interview, promote or hire a candidate if the candidate has chosen not to provide a salary history. An employer or employment agency cannot ask a candidate for their current or previous salary if it is illegal to do so. It has been shown that this information has been widely used to create such a large gender pay gap. One of the objectives of the ban on pay history is to close the gender pay gap. Women often earn less than men in their careers because they are paid based on their previous salaries, which tend to be lower than those of men. This cycle continues throughout women`s careers, so women generally earn less than men, and it begins during the hiring process. Employers may not require information on past wages. Only in certain circumstances can they confirm their previous pay and rely on this information to determine earnings. As of December 2020, 19 states — plus Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and 20 localities — had implemented a version of a wage ban.9 Alabama10 has a narrow law that prohibits employers from rejecting a candidate`s hiring because of their refusal to disclose their previous salary, while Colorado11 has a more comprehensive law that prohibits employers from asking for past wages. Retaliation against candidates who fail to disclose their previous salary and rely on the previous salary for hiring and compensation decisions. Some state and local salary history laws differ in their approaches to situations where applicants voluntarily disclose their previous salary. For example, while the Columbia, South Carolina, Salary History Act12 allows employers to rely on voluntarily disclosed prior wages, the Salt Lake City, Utah13 law prohibits this practice.
While many wage history prohibitions apply to all employers in a given state or city, some laws are narrower, such as the Toledo, Ohio law,14 which applies only to employers with 15 or more employees, and the North Carolina law,15 which applies only to state agencies.