In light of the current political climate and the corresponding lack of legislation being enacted at the federal level, some of the more liberal states and localities have begun to take matters into their own hands and enact their own legislation.   One trend that is starting to gain significant momentum is in the field of equal pay legislation. Several states and cities have already enacted legislation banning inquiries into job applicants’ salary history as part of an effort to ensure pay equity for women.   The prohibition against asking candidates for their prior salaries is akin to the passage of “ban the box” laws in nearly half the states in the country, which bar employers from requiring job applicants to disclose whether they have a criminal record on job applications.  These new laws will have a significant effect on employers operating in the applicable states and municipalities.

Last year, Massachusetts passed the nation’s first law prohibiting employers from asking job applicants for their current salaries or salary history.  Pro employee groups praised this law as a way to counter the pay discrimination that can follow a woman throughout her career when the salary bump she gets with each job move is based on pay that is already less than her male peers.  Many advocates for women believe that by basing future salaries on previous wages, employers are perpetuating the long-standing gender based pay gap. Indeed, some argue that the widening of the gender pay gap as women age supports the theory that employers are relying too heavily on previous salaries.  Companies and business groups, on the other hand, have expressed their views that this new law is misguided and represents yet another government-mandated intrusion into the way they conduct their businesses.  Employers further argue that these laws could have a negative impact on job growth and, in addition, there is nothing unlawful or unfair about using salary history to set pay and manage their costs.

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