A salary history ban is a state or local rule that restricts an employer from asking about, obtaining or relying on an applicant's prior compensation. There is no single federal law enforced by the EEOC that creates a nationwide ban on salary-history questions, so employers must check the law that applies to the hiring location and role. Many jurisdictions permit employers to ask about salary expectations instead, while some allow limited use of salary history if the applicant voluntarily discloses it. The compliance goal is to set pay from the role, approved range and lawful job-related factors rather than simply carrying a worker's prior salary into the new job.
Jurisdiction: United States
Salary History Bans Regulate How Employers Use Prior Pay
Salary history laws generally focus on information about what an applicant earned in previous employment, including salary, wages, bonuses, benefits or other compensation. Depending on the jurisdiction, the employer may be prohibited from asking the applicant directly, instructing a recruiter or background provider to obtain the information, verifying prior pay, or relying on that information when deciding whether to hire the applicant or what compensation to offer. The exact scope matters. A law that prohibits inquiry is not necessarily identical to a law that also prohibits reliance, and a rule applying to private employers may differ from one covering public employers or contractors.
There Is No Single Federal Salary-History Ban
Federal anti-discrimination law can regulate compensation decisions, but the federal laws enforced by the EEOC do not create a general nationwide prohibition on asking applicants about prior salary. That means a recruiter working across the United States cannot use federal law alone as the compliance rule. State and local restrictions must be mapped separately. An employer may be permitted to ask a salary-history question under federal law but prohibited from doing so under the law of the state or city covering the role. Multi-state recruiting therefore needs jurisdiction logic rather than one assumption about what federal law allows.
Many Laws Separate Salary History From Salary Expectations
A common distinction is between asking what an applicant previously earned and asking what compensation the applicant expects for the new role. California, for example, bars covered salary-history inquiries but allows an employer to ask about the applicant's salary expectation for the position. That distinction supports a forward-looking compensation conversation. Recruiters can discuss the approved range, role requirements, location, experience and expectations without anchoring the discussion to the applicant's prior salary. Employers should still check each jurisdiction because the permitted wording, timing and exceptions can differ.
Voluntary Disclosure Does Not Always Mean Unrestricted Use
Some laws permit limited consideration of prior pay when the applicant voluntarily and without prompting discloses it, but that should not be converted into an invitation for recruiters to steer candidates into revealing salary history. California illustrates the distinction: an applicant may voluntarily disclose salary history, and the statute permits limited reliance in the circumstances it describes, yet prior salary still cannot justify a sex-, race- or ethnicity-based pay disparity for substantially similar work. Employers should therefore document whether a disclosure was genuinely voluntary and continue to test the resulting pay decision against equal-pay requirements.
Third-Party Recruiters and Background Processes Need the Same Controls
A salary-history restriction can be undermined if the direct employer stops asking but an agency recruiter, staffing partner or background process still collects prior compensation. Employers should communicate jurisdiction-specific rules to third parties and review intake forms, applicant tracking systems, interview scripts and reference-check processes. Fields requesting current salary, previous salary or compensation history should be removed or conditionally suppressed where prohibited. Contracts with recruiting vendors can also require compliance with applicable salary-history laws and prohibit collection beyond what the employer is legally permitted to use.
Salary History Bans and Pay Transparency Serve Different Functions
Salary-history laws and pay-transparency laws often appear in the same compliance program but address different moments. A salary-history rule limits backward-looking questions about what the applicant previously earned. A salary-transparency rule may require the employer to disclose the salary or wage range for the new role. Used together, the two approaches can move the compensation discussion toward the value and approved range of the current job. Employers should not assume that compliance with one automatically satisfies the other, because thresholds, geographic coverage, required disclosures and remedies can differ.
A Multi-State Hiring Process Should Default to Job-Based Pay Decisions
The strongest operational approach is to base hiring pay on the role's approved range and documented job-related criteria regardless of whether every recruiting jurisdiction has a salary-history ban. Compensation teams can establish a range before recruitment, define factors that can affect placement within the range and require an exception record when a proposed salary falls outside normal parameters. Recruiters can then discuss expectations and the role's pay opportunity without needing prior salary. This reduces the number of jurisdiction-specific questions in the interview process while still allowing the legal team to maintain separate rules for mandatory disclosures and statutory exceptions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it illegal everywhere in the United States to ask an applicant about salary history?
No. There is no single nationwide federal ban under the laws enforced by the EEOC. State and local law determines whether an employer may ask, verify or rely on prior compensation.
Can an employer ask about salary expectations instead?
Often yes, but employers should check the applicable jurisdiction. California expressly allows employers to ask about an applicant's salary expectation for the position.
Can voluntarily disclosed salary history always be used?
No universal rule applies. Some jurisdictions permit limited consideration of voluntary disclosure, but separate equal-pay and anti-discrimination requirements still constrain compensation decisions.
Related Guides
Official Sources
Requirements and practices differ by jurisdiction and organisation. Check current local law, official guidance and professional advice for a specific situation.