Pay transparency laws are regulations that require employers to disclose information about employee compensation, either to the employees themselves or to the public. These regulations require employers to be more transparent with salary ranges and benefits, and they aim to help promote fairness and equity in the workplace. For example, employers covered under this law must list the salary or hourly wage on their job posting.
During your job search, someone may ask you for your salary history. This is a tough position to be in, especially if you are hoping for a significant pay increase over your last job. Revealing your salary history could compromise your position in pay negotiations. It’s important to respond in a way that maintains your negotiating position without hurting your chance at the job. For more information about disclosing your salary, read below.
Employers tend to use your past salary to gauge your market value. It also gives them a sense of what salary you may be expecting.
Alabama
Effective September 1, 2019, under Alabama law, employers may not refuse to hire, interview, promote or employ a job applicant based on the applicant’s decision not to provide pay history. Additionally, the law prohibits retaliation against applicants for not providing their pay history.
California
Effective January 1, 2018, California law prohibits employers from seeking (on their own or through third parties) and relying on job applicants’ past pay information as a factor to determine whether to give a person a job and payment terms of that job. The California law, unlike other laws, will also require employers, upon reasonable request, to provide the pay range for the applied-for position. In California, job applicants may voluntarily contribute information about their pay history. If the applicant gives this information, employers can weigh or rely on the information when determining compensation.
San Francisco, California
Effective July 1, 2018, San Francisco’s “Parity in Pay Ordinance” will prohibit hiring managers from asking about a job applicant’s salary history and prohibit hiring managers from relying on pay history information as a factor in determining whether to hire the employee. San Francisco employers will also be prohibited from releasing a current or former employee’s compensation information to his or her prospective employer unless that employee has given written authorization. As with some other laws, the applicant may voluntarily, and “without prompting,” offer this information themselves to the prospective employer. In that case, the employer may consider or verify the information. The ordinance allows the applicant his or her prospective employer to participate in pre-employment compensation negotiations.
Colorado
Effective January 1, 2021, state law will prohibit employers from asking about an applicant’s pay history. If an employer does learn about an applicant’s pay history, the employer cannot use that information to determine wages. Employers may not discriminate or retaliate against a prospective employee for failing to disclose their pay history. The law will apply to all employers, including the state and any political subdivision, commission, department, institution or school district thereof.
Connecticut
Effective January 1, 2019, under Connecticut law, employers may not ask about an applicant’s pay history, unless it was voluntarily disclosed. Additionally, while applicants may be asked generally about whether their previous employer had stock options or other equity incentives, employers cannot ask for the specific values of these benefits.
The law applies to any individual, corporation, limited liability company, firm, partnership, voluntary association, joint stock association, the state and any political subdivision thereof and any public corporation within the state
Delaware
Effective December 14, 2017, Delaware law prohibits employers from screening job applicants based on their pay histories, including by requiring their prior pay meet a minimum or maximum criteria, or by finding out the applicants’ pay history from their current or former employers. The law will not prohibit the employer from discussing and negotiating pay and expectations with the prospective employee if the individual’s past pay history remains confidential. The law will allow the employer to ask about and verify the job applicant’s past pay history, but only after the offer of employment stating the compensation terms has been accepted by the applicant.
Atlanta, Georgia
Effective February 18, 2019, Atlanta has banned the “Salary History Box” requirement on City of Atlanta applications. Atlanta will not ask for salary history on its employment applications, in verbal interviews or in employment screenings. The law applies to all city agencies.
Hawaii
Effective January 1, 2019, under Hawaii law, employers are prohibited from asking about applicants’ salary histories, and they cannot rely on that information unless volunteered by the applicant. The law does not apply to internal applicants. The law applies to all employers, employment agencies and employees or agents thereof.
Illinois
Effective January 15, 2019, the State of Illinois will no longer ask prospective employees questions about salary history.
Effective September 29, 2019, the law applies to all employers in Illinois. The law prohibits employers from screening applicants based on their pay history, requiring applicants to disclose previous pay as a condition of employment, or requiring that the applicant’s former pay meets a certain minimum or maximum criteria. Employers may, however, discuss applicants’ pay expectations.
Chicago, Illinois
Effective April 10, 2018, by Executive Order, city departments of Chicago, Illinois may not ask for applicants’ salary histories.
Louisville, Kentucky
Effective May 17, 2018, by ordinance, city agencies in the Louisville/Jefferson County Metro Government or any department, agency or office thereof unless specifically excluded in the law, may not ask for applicants’ salary histories.
New Orleans, Louisiana
Effective January 25, 2017, by Executive Order, New Orleans now prohibits city agencies from asking for applicants’ salary histories.
Maine
Effective September 17, 2019, under Maine law, an employer may not seek information about a prospective employee’s pay history until after an offer of employment has been made. The law applies to all employers in the state of Maine.
Maryland
Effective October 1, 2020, under Maryland law, employers are prohibited from inquiring about an applicant’s pay history. This means that employers cannot rely on an applicant’s wage history to either screen applicants or to determine wages for the applicant if that person is hired. Additionally, employers are prohibited from retaliating against applicants for not providing pay history information
Montgomery County, Maryland
Effective August 14, 2019, the Montgomery County government will neither seek nor rely on an applicant’s salary history as a factor in determining whether to hire the applicant or when setting pay. The county must not retaliate or refuse to hire an applicant for the applicant’s refusal to disclose their salary history. The county may rely on salary history voluntarily disclosed by an applicant to offer the applicant a higher wage than initially offered if this does not result in unequal pay for equal work based on gender.
Massachusetts
Effective July 1,2018, the Massachusetts Equal Pay Act (MEPA) prohibits employers from screening applicants based on their pay history, requiring applicants to disclose previous pay as a condition of employment, or requiring that the applicant’s former pay meets a certain minimum or maximum criteria. The law also prevents employers from prohibiting employees from disclosing or discussing their wages as a term of employment. While Massachusetts will not allow the employer to seek the applicant’s pay history from the applicant or any of his or her current or former employers, the law does allow the applicant to voluntarily discuss his or her pay information.
Michigan
Michigan has prohibited salary history bans in the state. Local governments may not regulate the information that employers must request, require, or exclude on an application for employment or during the interview process.
However, under a directive, effective January 19, 2019, state departments and certain autonomous agencies may not ask about a job applicant’s salary history until a conditional offer of employment is extended. They also may not ask a current or prior employer or search public records databases to ascertain an applicant’s current or previous salary. Information already known or inadvertently discovered may not be considered.
Jackson, Mississippi
Effective June 13,2019, by ordinance, applications for employment with the city shall not inquire about salary history.
Missouri
Effective October 31, 2019, Missouri law will not allow employers to ask for nor rely on job applicants’ salary history when deciding to offer employment, or in determining salary, benefits or other compensation during the hiring process. Employers may ask about the applicant’s expectations around salary, benefits and compensation. The law’s prohibitions don’t apply to voluntary and unprompted disclosures of salary history information by an applicant. The law applies to all employers employing six or more employees
Kansas City, Missouri
Effective July 26, 2018, according to Kansas City law, the city may not ask applicants for their pay history until they have been hired at an agreed-upon salary.
Effective October 31, 2019, a Kansas City ordinance prohibits employers from asking applicants about their pay histories. Employers may not screen applicants based on their previous wages and cannot require that applicants’ prior wages meet minimum or maximum criteria.
New Jersey
Effective February 1, 2018 New Jersey state agencies and offices are prohibited from asking job applicants for their compensation history and investigating the prior salaries of applicants.
Effective January 1, 2020, New Jersey state law prohibits employers from screening applicants based on their pay history. Employers may not require that an applicant’s prior wages, salaries or benefits meet minimum or maximum criteria. If an applicant voluntarily, without employer prompting or coercion, discloses pay history, an employer may verify the applicant’s pay history and may also consider pay history in determining the applicant’s salary, benefits and other compensation. After an offer of employment that includes an explanation of the overall compensation package has been made to the applicant, an employer may request the applicant provide the employer a written authorization to confirm pay history. The law applies to all employers in the state of New Jersey.
New York
Effective January 2017, under New York law, state agencies and departments may not request salary history from applicants until after an offer of employment is extended. If an applicant’s prior compensation is already known, that information may not be relied upon in determining such applicant’s salary, unless required by law or collective bargaining agreement. The law applies to all agencies and departments over which the governor has executive authority, and all public benefit corporations, public authorities, boards and commission for which the governor appoints the chair, the chief executive or the majority of board members, except for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
Effective January 6, 2020, under New York Law, employers may not seek pay history. Employers cannot even ask an “optional” salary history question on job applications. Employers may, however, ask for an applicant’s salary expectations. An employer may only confirm pay history if, at the time an offer of employment is made, applicants or current employees respond to the offer by providing pay history to support a wage or salary higher than that offered by the employer. The law will apply to all public and private employers in the state, including New York City and public authorities.
New York City, New York
Effective October 31, 2017, New York City law will prohibit hiring managers from asking job applicants, their current or former employers about the applicants’ past salary. The ordinance will also prohibit employers from conducting public records searches to find the applicants’ pay history, as well as relying on any past pay data to determine the salary, benefits, and other compensation for applicants during the hiring process. The New York City ordinance allows discussions between the prospective employer and the applicant about expectations concerning desired compensation. The ordinance allows the applicant to voluntarily give the information about his or her past pay to the employer. If the applicant voluntarily tells the employer this information, the employer may verify it and consider it in determining the applicant’s salary, benefits, and other compensation. The New York City ordinance will not apply to current employees transferring to a new position.
Albany County, New York
Effective December 17, 2019, under local law, all employers and employment agencies in Albany county are barred from requesting information about past compensation and benefits until after a job offer is made.
Suffolk County, New York
Effective June 30,2019, under Suffolk County law, employers and employment agencies in Suffolk county may not ask, whether on an application or otherwise, about a job applicant’s wage or salary history, including compensation and benefits. Employers also may not conduct searches of publicly available records. Finally, employers may not rely on known salary history information in setting pay.
Westchester County, New York
Effective July 9, 2019, Westchester County law prohibits employers, labor organizations, employment agencies or licensing agencies, or an employee or agent thereof, from requesting information about previous wages. Only under limited circumstances may they confirm prior pay and rely on that information in setting pay.
North Carolina
Effective April 2, 2019, under North Carolina law, state state departments and agencies may not request pay history information from applicants and may not rely upon previously obtained prior salary information in setting pay.
Cincinnati, Ohio
Effective March 2020, under Cincinnati Law, employers may not ask applicants about their salary history and may not rely on known salary histories. Employers also must, upon reasonable request, provide a pay scale for a position for which an applicant has been provided a conditional offer of employment. The law will apply to employers with 15 or more employees located within the city, including job placement and referral agencies. State and local governments are excluded, with the exception of the City of Cincinnati.
Toledo, Ohio
Effective June 25, 2020, under Toledo Law, Employers may not ask for nor screen job applicants based on their pay history. They may not require that an applicant’s pay history, benefits or other compensation satisfy minimum or maximum criteria. Employers may, however, discuss applicants’ pay expectations. Additionally, the law prohibits retaliation against applicants for not providing their pay history. The law will apply to all employers located within the city that employ 15 or more employees, including referral and employment agencies, as well as the city.
Oregon
Effective October 6, 2017, Oregon prohibits hiring managers from screening job applicants based on their current or past pay. Employers can only ask applicants about their pay history after a job offer has been made. Additionally, it is prohibited to set an applicants’ pay based on their current or past compensation. This law does not apply to current employees who want to transfer to another position.
Pennsylvania
Effective September 4, 2018 under Pennsylvania Law, State agencies may not ask about a job applicant’s current compensation or compensation history at any stage during the hiring process. All job postings must clearly disclose a position’s pay scale and pay range.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia’s “Philadelphia’s Wage Equity Ordinance (effective date pending) prohibits employers from asking about or requiring disclosure of a job applicant’s pay history. It also prohibits employers from conditioning the offer of employment or consideration for an interview based on pay disclosure. The ordinance also prohibits hiring managers from relying on the past compensation history that was received from applicant’s current or former employer when determining the applicant’s pay at any stage in the employment process. This includes during the negotiation or drafting of any employment contract unless the applicant “knowingly and willingly” tells his or her past pay history to the employer. While the prohibited scope of “wage history” is rather broad, employers can still ask about a candidate’s pay expectationsr.
This ordinance is enforced by the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations (PCHR). Complaints may be initiated with the PCHR within 300 days of the alleged violation.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Effective January 30,2017, by ordinance, Pittsburgh prohibits the city from asking about a job applicant’s salary history. It also forbids the city from relying on pay history in the employment process, unless the applicant volunteered the information.
Puerto Rico
Effective March 8, 2017, Puerto Rico hiring managers may not ask a job applicant, or his or her current or former employer, about the applicant’s salary history. However, the applicant may voluntarily tell the employer that information. If the applicant does, or the employer has already offered to hire him or her, the employer may further ask about or confirm the person’s salary history. The Puerto Rico law also promotes pay transparency in the workplace by prohibiting employers from restricting applicants’ or employees’ questions or discussions about their pay information or the pay information of another employee with similar duties.
Columbia, South Carolina
Effective August 6, 2019, under Columbia, SC ordinance the city will not seek pay history, nor will it rely on pay history in the determination of wages unless an applicant knowingly and willingly discloses pay history. This ordinance was amended on December 3, 2019 to clarify that it was not intended to cover private employers. While this ordinance does not apply to private employers, the city will encourage vendors who do business with the city to adopt similar standards, and it may factor in vendors’ pay history standards in the process of determining whether to award city contracts.
Richland County, South Carolina
Effective May 23, 2019 Richland County will remove the salary history question from employment applications, verbal interviews and employment screenings.
Salt Lake City, Utah
Effective March 1, 2018, under Salt Lake City law, individuals participating in a city hiring process in Salt Lake City Corporations, are prohibited from asking an applicant about their salary history. If an applicant voluntarily discloses salary information, the city cannot rely on such information.
Vermont
Effective July 2018, under Vermont law, employers may not request applicants’ pay history. Employers may not require that an applicant’s prior compensation meet minimum or maximum criteria. If salary history information is volunteered, employers may only confirm it after a job offer has been made.
Washington
Effective July 28, 2019, under Washington State Law, Employers may not seek pay history. They may, however, confirm that information if the applicant voluntarily discloses it or if an offer has been extended. The pay history ban applies to all employers in the state.
Employers with 15 or more employees, upon request of the applicant and after extending an offer to the applicant, must provide information about the minimum salary for the position for which the applicant is applying.
Washington, D.C.
Effective November 17, 2017, according to district policy, the D.C. Government is prohibited from asking applicants for their pay histories unless it is volunteered by the applicant after an offer of employment has been made.
Wisconsin
Effective April 18, 2018, under Wisconsin law, local governments are forbidden from prohibiting employers from soliciting applicants’ pay histories. Thus, employers are legally allowed to request information about applicants’ previous wages.
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, many other states are considering this type of legislation. These states currently include Georgia, Iowa, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Rhode Island, Texas, and, Virginia.
No. Salary history is personal information that you may choose to withhold from your employer. However, while there is no legal obligation to disclose your previous salary, there is no way to be sure how a particular employer may react. Declining to disclose your previous salary could result in losing the job opportunity.
Basing salaries on a person’s previous pay rate perpetuates the pay gap between men and women and minorities. As noted above, many states are moving towards banning salary history questions altogether.
A polite way to ask for salary range would be by saying:
- “I want to be respectful of your time. Is there a specific salary range for this position?”
- “I want to be respectful of your time. There is a specific salary range I’m looking for. Can we talk about that upfront?”
- “If you don’t mind me asking, what is the salary range for this role?”
Since it is still standard practice for many employers to not disclose a salary range up front, you may be met with resistance. There is no way to be sure of how a particular employer may react to this question. There is always a risk that it could result in losing the job opportunity. However, as more employers begin to realize the benefit of providing salary information up front, this will become less of a problem.
State Information
New York City adopted a law requiring employers (and their agents) to include the “minimum and maximum salary” for a position in any advertisements for a job, promotion, or transfer opportunity.
Washington. On March 30th, 2022, Governor Jay Inslee signed into law SB 5761, which will require employers to include in each job posting salary or pay range and information about other compensation and benefits. The new law goes into effect January 1, 2023.
If it’s not a required field on an online form, or if it is a physical form, leave it blank. If it is a required field on an online form, enter $0 or $1. It will be clear to employers that you do not want to answer the question.
You can also ask for the compensation range of the position you applied for, before the interview process, during a phone screen, or e-mail exchange. Be prepared for this question to lead to being asked what your expectations are. You can respond by saying “The range sounds in line with my expectations.”
No. You may be tempted to exaggerate during salary negotiations, but it would be in your best interest not to. Headhunters and human resources professionals are well versed in this area and can catch you in your lie. If you lie, you will lose credibility, lose the job you are applying for and damage your professional reputation.
- “I prefer not to tell you my past salary because I’d like to have an honest, fair negation based on what I can do to make your business more successful.”
- “I’d be happy to talk about that at the appropriate time. Why don’t you tell me more about …?”
- “Before we get to that, let me make sure I’m even in your ballpark. What is the salary range for this position?”
- “I’m not comfortable discussing salary at this stage. Perhaps we can do so when we meet in person?”
- “My current employer does not allow me to discuss the terms of my employment.”
- “For a person with the skills and experience you want, I’d expect that this position would not pay less than ‘X.’ Correct?”
If your potential employer asks many times, and none of the above answers are working for you, you can always decide to share your salary information. If you know your last job underpaid you from looking at your fair market value, don’t hesitate to bring that up to your potential employer.
The EEO-1 is a form from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) which employers with at least 100 employees and government contractors with at least 50 employees must fill out each year. In the form, employers are required to disclose the race-ethnicity, gender and job category of their employees.
The expanded EEO-1 form would require employers to categorize their employees by gender, race, type of work, and place them into one of twelve wage brackets. For example, if a company has 50 men of the same race, who do similar work for a similar amount of money, then they would be grouped together.
Although the EEO-1 is confidential and not accessible to the public, the information would be disclosed to government agencies responsible for monitoring workplace discrimination and allow companies to identify pay gaps to take internal corrective action.
However, on August 30, 2017, the White House Office of Management and Budget announced that the pay data reporting requirement is suspended indefinitely. It is now unclear whether this proposal will move forward or whether employers will be required to disclose pay data except as requested in a lawsuit or other pay dispute.