Idaho salary history ban: no state law, an equal pay act with only two defenses, and three neighbors that ban the question

Idaho has no law that bars employers from asking job candidates about their salary history, as of November 2026, and the Legislature's 2025 and 2026 bill lists show no bill that would add one. Two things still make the question a poor bet. Idaho's own equal pay statute, Idaho Code 44-1702, names only seniority and merit increase systems as exceptions, and the Ninth Circuit, which covers Idaho, does not accept prior pay as a defense to a federal equal pay claim. And three of Idaho's six neighbors, Washington, Oregon and Nevada, ban the question for work done there.

Is it illegal to ask about salary history in Idaho?

No. The Idaho Code has no provision on salary history questions. The Legislature's subject indexes for the 2025 and 2026 sessions list minimum wage, earned wage access and public pay bills under "Wages," and nothing on pay history in hiring. Private and public employers may ask; a candidate may decline, and no Idaho statute protects that choice. Idaho's other hiring rules are in hiring employees in Idaho and Idaho background check laws.

What does Idaho's equal pay law say about prior pay?

Idaho Code 44-1702(1), unchanged since 1969, says no employer shall pay an employee of one sex "at a rate less than the rate at which he pays any employee of the opposite sex for comparable work on jobs which have comparable requirements relating to skill, effort and responsibility." Its exceptions are a single sentence:

"Differentials which are paid pursuant to established seniority systems or merit increase systems, which do not discriminate on the basis of sex, are not within this prohibition."

That is narrower than the federal Equal Pay Act, which adds a production system and "any other factor other than sex" (29 U.S.C. 206(d)(1)). The Idaho text has no catch-all, so there is no state-law sentence an employer can point to for "we matched her old salary." Three more details matter to recruiters:

• Agents are employers. Under 44-1701(2), "employer" includes "any person acting directly or indirectly in the interest of an employer in relation to an employee," and the definition sets no minimum number of employees.
• No causing it either. Section 44-1702(2) says "No person shall cause or attempt to cause an employer to discriminate against any employee in violation of this act." A recruiter who steers a client to a lower offer because of a candidate's old pay is the situation those words describe.
• Remedies. Under 44-1704, an employer owes the unpaid wages and, for willful violations in employee suits, up to an equal amount as liquidated damages, plus attorney's fees and costs. The director of the Human Rights Commission may sue on an employee's written request.

The Idaho Human Rights Act adds a broader claim: Idaho Code 67-5909(1) bars discrimination "with respect to compensation" because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age or disability, and 67-5909(2) reaches employment agencies. The act's definition of employer starts at five employees and includes "any agent of such employer."

How do federal courts in Idaho treat prior pay?

Idaho is in the Ninth Circuit. In Rizo v. Yovino, No. 16-15372, filed February 27, 2020, the en banc court held "that an employee's prior pay cannot serve as an affirmative defense to a prima facie showing of an EPA violation," and that "prior pay, alone or in combination with other factors, cannot serve as a defense." The court added that its holding concerns the defense, "not the consideration of prior pay to make a competitive job offer, to negotiate higher pay, or to set a salary."

Put that next to 44-1702 and the conclusion is simple: in Idaho, neither state nor federal law gives an employer a defense built on prior pay. The EEOC's Compliance Manual section on compensation discrimination, still on eeoc.gov as of November 2026, says "Prior salary cannot, by itself, justify a compensation disparity." Title VII, at 42 U.S.C. 2000e-2(a), applies to employers with 15 or more employees.

Is a public employee's pay public in Idaho?

Mostly, and that is a trap for sourcers. Idaho Code 74-106(1) exempts personnel records of public officials from disclosure, "other than the public official's public service or employment history, classification, pay grade and step, longevity, gross salary and salary history, including bonuses, severance packages, other compensation." The Public Records Act's definitions make "public official" cover any state, county or local "official or employee, whether elected, appointed or hired."

So a candidate leaving a school district or a state agency has a pay history anyone can request. Idaho law does not stop you from looking, but Minnesota's ban, for comparison, expressly covers seeking public records to set an offer. The Rizo problem is the same either way: a number pulled from a records request will not defend a gap.

Can Idaho cities pass salary history bans?

We found none that has. In November 2026 we searched the Boise and Pocatello codes on American Legal and the Meridian and Nampa codes on Municode for "salary history," "wage history," "pay history," "prior salary" and "compensation history" and found no provision. The express state limit on local wage rules we found is narrow: Idaho Code 44-1502(4) says no political subdivision "shall establish by ordinance or other action minimum wages higher than the minimum wages provided in this section." It does not mention hiring questions. A city may also set its own application rules as an employer; ask a municipal client for its current form.

Which neighboring states' bans reach Idaho recruiters?

This is where most Idaho exposure sits. Coeur d'Alene desks recruit into Spokane, Treasure Valley desks into eastern Oregon, and many Idaho employers hire remote staff along the West Coast:

Look at where the job, or the remote worker, will be. A Post Falls employer filling a role in Spokane Valley, or a Boise company hiring a remote analyst who lives in Portland, should follow that state's rule. Postings for remote roles raise the matching pay range question; see pay transparency for remote jobs.

Should an Idaho recruiter ask about current pay?

Agency licensing and screening rules are in Idaho staffing agency licensing and E-Verify requirements in Idaho.

An Idaho script

Opening the pay topic

"This role pays $26 to $31 an hour plus benefits (example figures). What rate are you looking for?" More wording is in salary expectation questions.

When the client asks what she earns now

"We don't collect it. Idaho's equal pay law and the Ninth Circuit both leave old pay without weight as a defense, so it's safer to set the offer from the range. Her expectation is $29."

When the candidate volunteers current pay

"Thanks. We set pay from the role, so the useful number is what you need to make the move." Record the expectation only; see what not to write in interview notes.

Idaho summary

Idaho checklist

1. Adopt a no-pay-history policy for every desk, since three neighbors already require one.
2. Share the range and ask for expectations.
3. Write down the job-related reasons for each offer; under 44-1702, seniority and merit are the only named exceptions.
4. Keep volunteered or looked-up figures out of the ATS and submittals.
5. Route Washington, Oregon and Nevada jobs, and remote workers there, through that state's process, and check the rest on our salary history ban states list.