Do Wage Verification Laws Impact Your State?
To address pay equity, cities & states are passing legislation that prohibits the request & verification of salary history. Get StartedTwenty-seven states and territories in the U.S. have passed legislation aimed to prevent wage discrimination by prohibiting salary history verification during the hiring process. The laws vary by state and jurisdiction. To help keep you compliant, we’ve outlined the specifics below.
18 states have initiated statewide bans
on salary verification.
2 states have prohibited local governments
from banning salary verification.
21 of the bans only apply
to local jurisdictions.
Salary Verification Laws by Jurisdiction
Alabama
State-wide
Effective Date: Sept. 1, 2019
Employers Affected: All employers
Employers may not refuse to hire, interview, promote or employ a job applicant based on the applicant’s decision not to provide pay history.
California
State-wide
Effective Date: Jan. 1, 2018
Employers Affected: All employers, including state and local government employers and the legislature
California’s ban prohibits private and public employers from seeking a candidate’s pay history. The law also requires employer to give applicants pay scale information if they request it.
San Francisco
Effective Date: July 1, 2018
Employers Affected: All employers, including city contractors and subcontractors
A city ordinance in San Francisco prohibits employers from both asking and considering a job applicants’ current or prior compensation in setting pay.
Colorado
State-wide
Effective Date: Jan. 1, 2021
Employers Affected: All employers, including the state and any political subdivision, commission, department, institution or school district thereof.
Employers may not ask about an applicant’s pay history, nor can they rely on pay history to determine wages.
Connecticut
State-wide
Effective Date: Jan. 1, 2019
Employers Affected: 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
Employers may not ask about an applicant’s pay history, unless it was voluntarily disclosed.
Delaware
State-wide
Effective Date: Dec. 14, 2017
Employers Affected: All employers, or an employer’s agent
Employers are prohibited from screening applicants based on past compensation and from asking about salary history. They can confirm it after extending an offer, however.
Georgia
Atlanta
Effective Date: Feb. 18, 2019
Employers Affected: City agencies
Atlanta will not ask for salary history on its employment applications, in verbal interviews or in employment screenings.
Hawaii
State-wide
Effective Date: Jan. 1, 2019
Employers Affected: All employers, employment agencies and employees or agents thereof
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.
Illinois
State-wide
Effective Date: Jan. 15, 2019
Employers Affected: State agencies
Illinois’ governor said the state will no longer ask prospective employees questions about salary history.
Effective Date: Sept. 29, 2019
Employers Affected: All employers
Employers may not seek pay history including benefits or other compensation. However, employers may discuss applicants’ pay expectations.
Chicago
Effective Date: April 10, 2018
Employers Affected: City departments
City departments may not ask for applicants’ salary histories.
Kentucky
Louisville
Effective Date: May 17, 2018
Employers Affected: The Louisville/Jefferson County Metro Government or any department, agency or office thereof unless specifically excluded in the law
City agencies may not ask for applicants’ salary histories.
Louisiana
New Orleans
Effective Date: Jan. 25, 2017
Employers Affected: City departments
City agencies may not ask for applicants’ salary histories.
Effective Date: Oct. 1, 2019
Employers Affected: The city
The city will not seek pay history, nor will it screen applicants based on their current or prior pay, compensation or other benefits. The city may not rely on pay history when determining wages nor in determining whether to offer employment to applicants.
Maine
State-wide
Effective Date: Sept. 17, 2019
Employers Affected: All employers.
An employer may not seek information about a prospective employee’s pay history until after a job offer has been negotiated.
Maryland
Montgomery County
Effective Date: Aug. 14, 2019
Employers Affected: The Montgomery County government
The county 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 wage history provided by an applicant to offer them a higher wage than initially offered if it does not result in unequal pay for equal work based on gender.
Massachusetts
State-wide
Effective Date: July 1, 2018
Employers Affected: All employers, including state and municipal employers.
Employers cannot request salary history information. They can, however, confirm prior history if volunteered by the applicant or if an offer has been extended. If known, previous pay cannot be a defense to a pay discrimination claim.
Michigan
State-wide
Effective Date: June 24, 2018
Employers Affected: None
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.
Effective Date: Jan. 8, 2019
Employers Affected: State departments and certain autonomous agencies
Departments 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.
Mississippi
Jackson
Effective Date: June 13, 2019
Employers Affected: The city
Applicants for employment with the city may not inquire about pay history.
Missouri
Kansas City
Effective Date: July 26, 2018
Employers Affected: The city
The city may not ask applicants for their pay history until they have been hired at an agreed-upon salary.
Effective Date: Oct. 31, 2019
Employers Affected: All employers employing six or more employees
Employers may not 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.
St. Louis
Effective Date: March 11, 2020
Employers Affected: The city
Offices, departments and other divisions of the city shall not inquire about an applicant’s pay history, nor can they refuse to hire or retaliate against applicants for refusing to provide salary history. The law does not apply to those applying for internal transfer, promotion or certain previously employed applicants.
New Jersey
State-wide
Effective Date: Feb. 1, 2018
Employers Affected: State entities
New Jersey agencies and offices are prohibited from asking job applicants for their compensation history.
Effective date: Jan. 1, 2020
Employers Affected: All employers
Employers may not screen applicants based on their salary history. They may not require an applicant’s prior wages, salaries, or benefits meet minimum or maximum criteria. If an applicant voluntarily offers pay history, an employer may verify the applicant’s pay history and may also consider pay history in deciding the applicant’s salary, benefits, and other compensation. After employment has been offered, including an explanation of the compensation package, an employer may request a written authorization from the applicant to confirm salary history.
New York
State-wide
Effective Date: Jan. 9, 2017
Employers Affected: 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
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.
Effective Date: Jan. 6, 2020
Employers Affected: All employers
Employers may not seek pay history. If applicants respond to an employment offer by providing pay history to support a wage or salary higher than that offered by the employer, the employer may only confirm pay history.
New York City
Effective Date: Oct. 31, 2017
Employers Affected: All employers, employment agencies or employees or agents thereof
Employers in New York City are prohibited from requesting information about job applicants’ previous pay or benefits. If an employer already has that information, it is prohibited from using that information to set pay.
Albany County
Effective Date: Dec. 17, 2017
Employers Affected: All employers and employment agencies
Employers are barred from requesting information about past compensation and benefits until after a job offer is made.
Suffolk County
Effective Date: June 30, 2019
Employers Affected: Employers and employment agencies
Employers 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
Effective Date: July 9, 2018
Employers Affected: Employers, labor organizations, employment agencies or licensing agencies, or an employee or agent thereof
Employers may not request information about previous wages. Only under limited circumstances may they confirm prior pay and rely on that information in setting pay.
North Carolina
State-wide
Effective Date: April 2, 2019
Employers Affected: State agencies
State agencies may not request pay history information from applicants and may not rely upon previously obtained prior salary information in setting pay.
Ohio
Cincinnati
Effective Date: March 2020 (estimated)
Employers Affected: Employers with 15 or more employees located within the city, including job placement and referral agencies. State and local governments are excluded, apart from the City of Cincinnati.
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.
Toledo
Effective Date: June 25, 2020
Employers Affected: Employers with 15 or more employees located within the city, including referral and employment agencies, as well as the city.
Employers may not ask for nor screen applicants based on their salary history. However, employers may discuss applicants’ pay expectations.
Oregon
State-wide
Effective Date: Oct. 6, 2017
Employers Affected: Any person employing one or more employees, including the state or any political subdivision thereof or any county, city, district, authority, public corporation or entity and any of their instrumentalities organized and existing under law or charter
Employers may not ask about an applicants’ pay history. Employers also are prohibited from using prior compensation to set pay, except for current employees moving to a new position with the same employer.
Pennsylvania
State-wide
Effective Date: Sept. 4, 2018 (estimated)
Employers Affected: State agencies
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
Effective Date: TBD
Employers Affected: Any person who does business in the city through employees or who employs one or more employees exclusive of parents, spouse or children, including any public agency or authority; any agency, authority or instrumentality of the state; and the city, its department, boards and commissions
Philadelphia’s salary history ban remains on hold while a judge considers a legal challenge to the regulations.
Pittsburgh
Effective Date: Jan. 30, 2017
Employers Affected: The city or any division, department, agency or office thereof, unless specifically excluded in the law
The city’s agencies and offices may not ask about an applicant’s prior pay and, if they discover it, are prohibited from relying on that information unless the applicant has volunteered it.
Puerto Rico
Commonwealth-wide
Effective Date: March 8, 2017
Employers Affected: All employers
Employers may not request applicants’ pay history, but the law makes some exceptions for applicants’ voluntary salary disclosures and pay corroboration that take place after a job offer has been made, according to a translation.
South Carolina
Columbia
Effective Date: Aug. 6, 2019
Employers Affected: The city
The city will not seek pay history, nor will it rely on pay history when determining wages unless an applicant knowingly and willingly discloses pay history. The city encourages 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
Effective Date: May 23, 2019
Employers Affected: The county
Richland County will remove the salary history question from all employment applications, verbal interviews, and employment screenings.
Utah
Salt Lake City
Effective Date: March 1, 2018
Employers Affected: Salt Lake City
Individuals participating in a city hiring process are prohibited from asking an applicant about their salary history. If an applicant voluntarily discloses salary information, the city cannot rely on such information in a hiring decision.
Vermont
State-wide
Effective Date: July 1, 2018
Employers Affected: All employers
Employers cannot request applicants’ pay history.
Virginia
State-wide
Effective Date: July 1, 2019
Employers Affected: State agencies
The Virginia Department of Human Resource Management introduced an updated application for state jobs that eliminated the salary history field, according to an announcement by Gov. Ralph Northam.
Washington
State-wide
Effective Date: July 28, 2019
Employers Affected: All employers
Employers may not seek pay history.
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.
Wisconsin
State-wide
Effective Date: April 18, 2018
Employers Affected: None
Local governments may not prohibit employers from soliciting the salary history of prospective employees.
How to Report Wage Discrimination
If you have been discriminated against at work due to race, sex, religion, national origin, age, disability, or genetic information, visit the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to file a Charge of Discrimination.
Let's get acquainted
Discover how InfoMart can simplify your background checks & streamline your global onboarding