Pre-Employment Salary History Inquiry – No more!

–  One of the additional laws that have gone into effect in 2019, is restriction on getting salary history.   AB 2282 provides in party:

(a) An employer shall not rely on the salary history information of an applicant for employment as a factor in determining whether to offer employment to an applicant or what salary to offer an applicant.

(b) An employer shall not, orally or in writing, personally or through an agent, seek salary history information, including compensation and benefits, about an applicant for employments that the employer are now prohibited from obtaining or using salary history in the hiring process.

The new law also expressly clarifies that employers may ask an applicant about their “salary expectation,” directly addressing employer concerns about the ability to offer competitive salaries without violating the law.
Existing law also requires an employer to provide the pay scale for a position to an applicant applying for employment upon reasonable request.   To avoid employment litigation, employers in Orange and Los Angeles counties should be educated and trained on these clarified restrictions regarding salary history inquiries.   Additionally, all employment applications and forms need to be revisited and updated to make sure salary history information is not included.  Furthermore, employers should be cautioned not to seek any salary history information during job interviews.