State and Local Salary History Bans
July 31, 2019
The practice of using salary history in the hiring process can have major repercussions in perpetuating the pay gap many women and people of color face in their careers. Relying on salary history to set future salary assumes that prior salaries were fairly established in the first place. Using salary histories, which may have been tainted by bias, means that discriminatory pay follows workers wherever they go, whatever their job, no matter their abilities. Curtailing this practice will go a long way in our fight for pay equity.
As such, beginning in 2016, many states and localities began regulating the use of salary history in the hiring process. While there are differences between the provisions, below is a list of states and localities that regulate the practice in some form.
State Provisions
- Alabama – all employers in the state
- California – all employers in the state
- Colorado – all employers in the state
- Connecticut – all employers in the state
- Delaware – all employers in the state with more than four employees
- Hawaii – all employers in the state
- Illinois – all employers in the state
- Maine – all employers in the state
- Massachusetts – all employers in the state
- Michigan – all state agencies, as established through executive order
- New Jersey – all employers in the state
- New York – all employers in the state
- North Carolina – all state agencies, as established through executive order
- Oregon – all employers in the state
- Puerto Rico – all employers in the territory
- Pennsylvania – all state agencies, as established through executive order
- Vermont – all employers in the state
- Virginia – all state agencies, as established through executive action
- Washington – all employers in the state
To see a full breakdown of state pay equity laws, visit our Policy Guide to Equal Pay in the States.
Local Provisions
- San Francisco, California – all employers in the city
- Atlanta, Georgia – all city agencies
- Chicago, Illinois – all city agencies
- Louisville, Kentucky – all city agencies
- New Orleans, Louisiana – all city agencies
- Montgomery County, Maryland – all county agencies
- Jackson, Mississippi – all city agencies
- Kansas City, Missouri – all employers in the city with more than six employees
- St. Louis County, Missouri – all employers in the county
- Albany County, New York – all employers in the county
- New York, New York – all employers in the city
- Westchester County, New York – all employers in the county
- Cincinnati, Ohio – all employers in the city with more than 15 employees
- Toledo, Ohio – all employers in the city with more than 15 employees
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – all employers in the city
- Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania – all city agencies
- Salt Lake City, Utah – all city agencies
Take Action
- Download your state policy road map and deliver it to your local, state, and federal elected officials.
- Use your state road map as a springboard to write a letter to the editor or an op-ed calling for your members of Congress to take action on the pay gap.
- Become an AAUW Two-Minute Activist and tell your elected officials to support the ongoing fight for fair pay.
Related
Simple Truth about the Gender Pay Gap
Learn about the pay gap in the United States, how it affects all women, and what you can do to close it.
The Gender Pay Gap by State
How does your state’s gender pay gap stack up? Get a policy guide and graphic for your state.
Quick Facts on the Gender Pay Gap
The pay gap persists across all racial and ethnic groups, and it is found in every state.
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