“What is your current salary or hourly wage?”
That’s a common question on job applications across the country. In California, applicants and employers have seen this question disappear from applications. With a new law (A.B. 168), California is the latest area to ban employers from asking job candidates how much they make currently or how much they have made in the past. The law took effect on January 1, 2018, and also mandated employers to provide job candidates with a pay scale for the position applied to upon request.
California’s law is part of a growing trend in the U.S., and employers should understand pay disclosure laws in the event they come to your state or city. Here’s where to start:
Asking: “How much job candidates currently make in 2018?
A form of pay disclosure laws may be implemented nationwide if an EEOC policy goes into effect. The Equal Pay Act bars employers from basing someone’s salary on prior pay, and the act is currently being argued in the courts.
While some states are requiring the change, some larger companies are willingly taking the practice nationwide. Google, Facebook, and Wells Fargo are among the employers who no longer ask for salary history in any state.
Pay Ratio Disclosure Checklist
While they’re not new, pay ratio disclosures can be difficult and time-consuming. This checklist provides a walk-through of what public companies need to know when drafting their pay ratio disclosures.
California’s Salary History Ban Goes Into Effect But With A Twist
California included a twist in their new law—the obligation to provide the pay scale for a position when reasonably requested by an applicant. The law does not specify the details of what the pay scale should include or when a request is reasonable.
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