https://gusto.com/framework/news/salary-history-ban-map/

As your trusted partner, we want to make sure you are up to date on issues that may affect you. Which is why we wrote about salary history bans last year.

In that article we discussed that a growing number of cities and states are voting on or implementing legislation in favor of a salary history ban during pre-employment screening—prohibiting employers from asking wage history questions to job applicants or considering previous applicant salaries as a determining factor in employment decisions.

Asking for an applicant’s salary history may seem an innocuous enough question; one of many that has been standard pre-employment practice for years. But like criminal history, it may lead to an unintended bias against applicants.

Asking for a person’s salary history can perpetuate pay disparity.

Think of it this way; an employee works diligently for five years—earning incremental pay increases along the way—and now wants to apply that experience to a new position at a much larger company. Unfortunately, the larger company asks for the employee’s salary history before offering the new position instead of simply paying market value. That could easily result in pay disparity because this person made less money at the previous position. If this scenario doesn’t seem fair to you, you are not alone.

We’re keeping an eye on this growing trend.

As of August 24, 2018, the following states and cities/counties have implemented salary history bans:

State-wide Ban         Effective Date   City/County Ban                               Effective Date

California                  Jan 1, 2018         San Francisco, CA                            Jul 1, 2018

Connecticut              Jan 1, 2019         Chicago, IL                                        Apr 10, 2018

Delaware                  Dec 14, 2017       Louisville, KY                                   May 17, 2018

Hawaii                       Jan 1, 2019         New Orleans, LA                              Jan 25, 2017

Massachusetts          Jul 1, 2018         Kansas City, MO                                Jul 26, 2018

New Jersey               Feb 1, 2018         New York City, NY                           Oct 31, 2017

New York                  Jan 9, 2017         Albany County, NY                          Dec 17, 2017

Oregon                      Oct 6, 2017         Westchester County, NY                 Jul 9, 2018

Pennsylvania           Sep 4, 2018         Philadelphia, PA                              (TBD)

Puerto Rico              Mar 8, 2017         Pittsburgh, PA                                  Jan 30, 2017

Vermont                    Jul 1, 2018

And, it’s very likely this trend will continue. Please know that A-Check is keeping a close eye on this evolving legislation, and remain committed to developing solutions that ensure you have the ability to continue making informed pre-employment decisions.