State and Local Salary History Bans

The practice of using salary history in the hiring process can have major repercussions in perpetuating the pay gap many women and people of color face in their careers.

Relying on salary history to set future salary assumes that prior salaries were fairly established in the first place. Using salary histories, which may have been tainted by bias, means that discriminatory pay follows workers wherever they go, whatever their job, no matter their abilities. Curtailing this practice will go a long way in our fight for pay equity.

As such, beginning in 2016, many states and localities began regulating the use of salary history in the hiring process. While there are differences between the provisions, below is a list of states and localities that regulate the practice in some form.

State Provisions

• Alabama – all employers in the state
• California – all employers in the state
• Colorado – all employers in the state
• Connecticut – all employers in the state
• Delaware – all employers in the state with more than four employees
• District of Columbia – all district government agencies
• Hawaii – all employers in the state
• Illinois – all employers in the state
• Maine – all employers in the state
• Maryland – all employers in the state
• Massachusetts – all employers in the state
• Michigan – all state agencies, as established through executive order; salary history bans are prohibited in the state
• Minnesota – all employers in the state
• Nevada – all employers in the state
• New Jersey – all employers in the state
• New York – all employers in the state
• North Carolina – all state agencies, as established through executive order
• Oregon – all employers in the state
• Puerto Rico – all employers in the territory
• Pennsylvania – all state agencies, as established through executive order
• Rhode Island – all employers in the state
• Vermont – all employers in the state
• Virginia – all state agencies, as established through executive action
• Washington – all employers in the state
• Wisconsin – salary history bans are prohibited in the state

Local Provisions

• San Francisco, California – all employers in the city
• Atlanta, Georgia – all city agencies
• Chicago, Illinois – all city agencies
• Louisville, Kentucky – all city agencies
• New Orleans, Louisiana – all city agencies
• Montgomery County, Maryland – all county agencies
• Jackson, Mississippi – all city agencies
• Kansas City, Missouri – all employers in the city with more than six employees
• Louis, Missouri – all employers in the city
• Albany County, New York – all employers in the county
• New York, New York – all employers in the city
• Suffolk County – all employers and employment agencies in the county
• Westchester County, New York – all employers in the county
• Cincinnati, Ohio – all employers in the city with more than 15 employees
• Columbus, Ohio – all employers in the city with 15 or more employees
• Toledo, Ohio – all employers in the city with more than 15 employees
• Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – all employers in the city
• Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania – all city agencies
• Columbia, South Carolina – all employers in the city
• Richland County, South Carolina – all employers in the county
• Salt Lake City, Utah – all city agencies

Updated January 30, 2024