Maine, Washington, and Colorado are the most recent states to ban private employers from asking applicants about salary history. As the prospect of a federal law to prohibit salary history inquiries remains unlikely for the foreseeable future, the issue has continued to gain momentum at the state and local levels, often with bipartisan support. Proponents argue these laws are necessary as a way to reduce the persistent wage gap between men and women.
With enactment of these three new state laws, there are now a total of ten states that bar private employers from making pre-employment inquiries about salary history. The other states are California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Oregon, and Vermont. Active proposals pending in a number of other states suggest that this number will continue to grow over the next several months.
Members of the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC) can read more here. In addition, the State Standards page on CWC’s website contains an up-to-date chart summarizing the state and local salary history bans enacted to date.