D.C. salary history ban: what D.C. Code 32-1452 actually bans

The District of Columbia added a wage history ban to its Wage Transparency Act in 2024. Since June 30, 2024, D.C. Code section 32-1452 has barred employers from screening prospective employees based on their wage history, including by requiring a candidate to disclose it to get an interview or stay in consideration, and from seeking it from a former employer. The ban sits alongside D.C.'s pay range and healthcare-benefits disclosure rules, and all of them are enforced by the government rather than by candidates suing.

D.C.'s ban is worded differently from most state bans, and the difference matters when you decide what a recruiter may say on a call. This page sets out exactly what the text covers.

The statute

Section 32-1452 says an employer shall not:

"(4) Screen prospective employees based on their wage history, including by requiring that a prospective employee's wage history satisfy minimum or maximum criteria or by requesting or requiring as a condition of being interviewed or as a condition of continuing to be considered for an offer of employment that a prospective employee disclose the prospective employee's wage history; or

(5) Seek the wage history of a prospective employee from a person who previously employed the individual."

"Wage history" means "information related to compensation an employee has received from other or previous employment," and "compensation" means "all forms of monetary and nonmonetary benefits." Both paragraphs were added by the Wage Transparency Omnibus Amendment Act of 2023, D.C. Law 25-138, effective March 5, 2024. Section 3 of that law says it "shall apply as of June 30, 2024."

Narrower wording than "may not ask"

The act's long title describes its purpose as prohibiting an employer "from screening prospective employees based on their wage history or seeking the wage history of a prospective employee." The codified text is more specific:

• Asking a former employer is banned outright by paragraph (5).
• Asking the candidate is banned when it is part of screening: requesting or requiring disclosure "as a condition of being interviewed or as a condition of continuing to be considered for an offer."
• Pay-based knockouts, such as requiring current pay to fall within a band, are banned.

Read literally, a question to the candidate that is genuinely optional and has no bearing on whether they move forward is not named in the text. In practice that distinction is hard to hold. A recruiter's question in a screening call is a request made during the stage that decides whether the candidate is interviewed, and a candidate who declines and is then not progressed has the facts of a paragraph (4) complaint. We found no D.C. court decision or published agency guidance on the point as of October 2026. The practical rule: do not ask D.C. candidates about wage history.

Who is covered

Under section 32-1451, an "employer" is "an individual, firm, association, or corporation that employs at least one employee in the District," except the D.C. government and the federal government. The chapter does not mention employment agencies or agents. An agency recruiter screening for a D.C. employer is doing the employer's screening, and a client that tells an agency to filter candidates on pay is screening on wage history through it. The Attorney General's power in section 32-1455(b-1) also extends to "an employer or other person violating this chapter."

What is banned and what is allowed

How it fits with D.C.'s pay range and healthcare disclosures

The same 2023 law added section 32-1453.01, which requires an employer to:

• provide "the minimum and maximum projected salary or hourly pay in all job listings and position descriptions advertised," set in good faith; and
• disclose "the existence of healthcare benefits that employees may receive before the first interview."

The healthcare disclosure has a fixed deadline, the first interview, which is usually the recruiter's screening call. Build it into the opening of that call, together with the range, and the pay conversation starts from the employer's numbers. Employers must also post a workplace notice of employees' rights under the act. Our D.C. pay transparency guide covers both disclosures in detail.

Enforcement and fines

• Civil fines. Under section 32-1455(a), the Mayor "shall assess" a fine of $1,000 for the first violation, $5,000 for the second and $20,000 for each subsequent violation, adjudicated under the District's administrative fines process.
• Attorney General. The Attorney General may investigate, issue subpoenas and sue for restitution, injunctive, compensatory or other relief, and on prevailing is entitled to attorneys' fees and costs and statutory penalties equal to the administrative penalties.
• No private suit. Section 32-1455(c): "Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to create a private right of action."
• No waiver. Section 32-1454 says the chapter cannot be set aside by private agreement.

References, background checks and current employers

Paragraph (5) bars seeking wage history "from a person who previously employed the individual." That plainly covers reference calls to former managers, HR verification calls to past employers, and background check packages that include salary verification. Three practical points:

• Reference scripts. Remove every pay question; the candidate reference call script is a starting point.
• Background check orders. Tell the vendor not to verify or report compensation for D.C. roles. Employment verification of dates and titles is a different question from wage history.
• The current employer. The text refers to a person who "previously employed" the individual and does not separately mention the current employer. Do not read that as permission: contacting a candidate's current employer about pay is also likely to be treated as screening on wage history, and most candidates would not consent to the call anyway.

Agency intake for D.C. roles

• Get the good-faith range and a description of healthcare benefits before you post or call anyone.
• Agree that the client will not ask you or candidates for pay history, and will not set pay-based knockouts.
• Agree that submittals show expectations, notice period and availability only.

A D.C. script

Opening the screening call

"Before we start: the range for this role is $90,000 to $108,000 (example figures), and it comes with health, dental and vision coverage. What are you looking for?"

When the candidate asks if you need their current salary

"No. We don't ask about pay history, and it has no bearing on whether you move forward."

When the client asks

"D.C. bars screening on pay history, including asking for it as a condition of an interview, and we can't ask her previous employer either. Her expectation is $104,000."

Candidates commuting from Maryland or Virginia may be applying to roles in all three jurisdictions. Maryland's and Virginia's bans are broader; see Maryland and Virginia.

D.C. checklist

1. Remove required salary fields and pay-based knockouts from applications for D.C. roles.
2. Disclose healthcare benefits and the range before the first interview.
3. Take pay off reference and background check scripts.
4. Do not ask candidates about wage history at any stage before an offer.
5. Use the expectation wording in salary expectation questions, and keep volunteered figures out of notes; see what not to write in interview notes.

For the other jurisdictions, see salary history ban states.