As of January 1, 2018, employers can no longer ask for a potential employee’s salary history during the hiring process in the State of California. Assembly Bill 168 states that employers cannot use employee salary history to determine if an applicant is qualified for a job or to determine their prospective salary. In addition to being precluded from asking the question, employers will now be required to provide applicants with a pay scale for a prospective job.
By not being allowed to ask for pay history, law supporters hope that this will further eliminate the gap between men and women in pay scales. Opponents of the bill, including the California Chamber of Commerce, are concerned the law will not address the issue of the wage gap and instead place unneeded restrictions on employers.
Three other states have also implemented similar laws.