Not anymore, says California
Finally, some progress. California Governor Jerry Brown recently signed a new bill (California Assembly Bill 168 aka the “Salary Privacy Bill”) that prohibits California employers of any size, both public and private, from asking applicants their prior salary history. This is a big step toward narrowing the wage gap and women NEED TO KNOW that it is illegal for California employers to ask for your salary history starting JAN 1, 2018.
In 2016, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that fully-employed women in California earned 88% of their male counterparts’ earnings, which is worse than it was five years ago! Therefore, asking women applicants to provide their salary history only perpetuates the problem.
That said, we’ve received a lot of questions from our members regarding what exactly is meant by “California employers”. Does this mean the bill only applies to businesses that are headquartered in California or any business that is hiring for a role based in California? While we do more digging, if you are job hunting and have questions on this new law, reach out to the lawyers at WMN Legal.
Even though California employers aren’t supposed to ask come 2018, it may take time for awareness of this new bill to take effect.
If you do get asked, one of our members shared that she recently used the following technique and found it successful with recruiters:
“I’m not able to disclose my current compensation due to a confidentiality agreement I signed with my (current or former) employer but if you (recruiter) can share the salary range for this role, I can advise if that is within my expectations.”
We like this technique because it forces the recruiter to make the first move giving the interviewee negotiating leverage.
We wish this bill was around even a year ago but are hopeful that more states will pass similar bills (here’s hoping for all 50!). Below are a few additional resources to check out:
This article from the OC Register: Previous salary? Soon, the question might be illegal.
This article from the SF Gate: New law bans California employers from asking applicants their prior salary.
Disclaimer: The above article was not written by a lawyer and not intended to be used as legal advice. Talk to a real lawyer! See how WMN Legal can help.
Posted In: Legal Tips