We recently became aware of a new study conducted by researchers at the Boston University School of Law that contends that the proliferation of state and local laws that ban employers from inquiring about an applicant’s prior salary history is having key positive impacts. Because the study has garnered some national media attention, we wanted to bring it to your attention.
According to the study, significantly more employers operating in jurisdictions with salary history bans now include some information about pay in job postings. The study also finds that starting salaries of those who change employers within those jurisdictions are significantly higher, especially for women and African Americans.
The study further posits that a significant portion of the wage gap for job-changing women disappears under a salary history ban. While the study’s authors do not address pay discrimination by individual employers, they nevertheless conclude that employer use of prior salary history data enables a form of institutional discrimination by perpetuating the effects of past discrimination or other “group inequities.”
Members of the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC) can read more here.