Mississippi salary history rules: no ban, and an equal pay act that names salary history as a defense

Mississippi has no law that bars employers from asking job candidates about their salary history, as of November 2026, and its equal pay statute points the other way. The Mississippi Equal Pay for Equal Work Act, in force since July 1, 2022, lists "the salary history or continuity of employment history demonstrated by the employee" among the factors other than sex that can justify a pay difference. Bills to reverse that and ban the question died in committee in 2025 and 2026, and a 2014 state law limits what cities can do; Jackson's own rule covers only city job applications. The federal Equal Pay Act still applies, and it does not treat salary history the same way.

Is it illegal to ask about salary history in Mississippi?

No. No Mississippi statute addresses salary history questions, and the two recent bills that would have barred them were not enacted. Private employers may ask, and a candidate may decline, with no state protection for a candidate who does. Our guide to hiring employees in Mississippi covers the rest of the state's hiring rules.

What does the Mississippi Equal Pay for Equal Work Act say about salary history?

House Bill 770 bars paying an employee less than "an employee of the opposite sex in the same establishment is paid for equal work on a job, the performance of which requires equal skill, education, effort and responsibility," except under a seniority system, a merit system, a production-based system, or "any other factor other than sex." It then says that phrase "shall include, but not be limited to, the following factors":

1. "The salary history or continuity of employment history demonstrated by the employee as compared to employees of the opposite sex in the same establishment";
2. "The extent to which there was competition with other employers for the employee's services";
3. "The extent to which the employee attempted to negotiate for higher wages."

Each factor is measured against employees of the opposite sex in the same establishment. That is the reverse of the states on our salary history ban list, which generally bar employers from relying on pay history to set pay.

Who does the state act cover, and how is it enforced?

Section 4 of the act adds an election that matters in practice. If an employee brings a federal Equal Pay Act claim, "a separate action may not be maintained under this act," and "An employee who seeks relief under this act must first waive any right to relief under the Equal Pay Act of 1963." Section 4 also makes published decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court, the Fifth Circuit and the federal district courts under the federal Act "mandatory authority" for Mississippi courts until the state's appellate courts rule otherwise.

So the salary history factor helps an employer only in a state-law case. A worker who sues under the federal Act instead is held to the federal standard, and 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), adds a separate claim against employers with 15 or more employees. An employer that leans on salary history is betting the employee picks the state statute.

What would HB 716 and HB 594 have changed?

Both bills, filed by Representative Summers, would have amended the 2022 act to define "wage history" and restrict its use:

• HB 716 (2025) was referred to the House Judiciary A Committee on January 15, 2025 and died in committee on February 4, 2025.
• HB 594 (2026) was referred to the Business and Commerce and Judiciary A committees on January 13, 2026 and died in committee on February 3, 2026.

HB 594 would have deleted salary history from the list of permitted factors and barred an employer from seeking an applicant's wage history or relying on it to consider the applicant or set starting pay. After an initial offer with compensation, an employer could have relied on wage history the applicant volunteered "without prompting" only to support a higher wage. It would also have made refusing to give wage history protected activity and allowed statutory damages of up to $10,000. None of that is law.

Can Mississippi cities ban salary history questions?

For their own hiring, yes, and Jackson has. Section 2-170(b) of the Jackson Code of Ordinances says "Applications for employment with the city shall not contain inquiries regarding prior salary history." It was added by Ordinance No. 2019-13(1), adopted May 14, 2019, and it binds the City of Jackson as an employer, not private businesses.

For private employers, a state law stands in the way. Senate Bill 2689, approved by the Governor on March 13, 2014 and effective July 1, 2014, now Miss. Code 17-25-33, says no county, municipality or other political subdivision "shall adopt or maintain in effect any law, ordinance, or rule that creates requirements, regulations, processes or prohibitions that in any way interfere with an employer's ability to become fully informed about the background of an employee or potential employee." It does not name salary history, so applying it to a pay history ordinance is an inference, but a broad one: a ban on asking about past pay limits what an employer can learn about a candidate's background. In November 2026 we also searched the Gulfport, Southaven, Hattiesburg, Biloxi and Meridian codes on Municode for "salary history," "wage history," "pay history" and "prior salary" and found nothing.

Do neighboring states' rules reach Mississippi recruiters?

The Alabama rule catches Gulf Coast and Meridian-area desks most often: a candidate who will work in Mobile and declines to share pay cannot be dropped for it. Remote hires who will work in a ban state, such as Colorado or Illinois, bring that state's rule with them.

Should a Mississippi recruiter ask about current pay?

The state act's three listed factors are not equal in value to a recruiter. "Competition with other employers for the employee's services," a real competing offer, is about the market today. Salary history is about the market the candidate left. If a client wants to justify a higher offer, a documented competing offer does that job without pulling old pay into the file. Agency and screening rules are in Mississippi staffing agency licensing and Mississippi background check laws.

A Mississippi script

Opening the pay topic

"This role pays $45,000 to $52,000 plus benefits (example figures). What would you need to make a move?" More wording is in salary expectation questions.

When the client says state law lets them use salary history

"It does, under the state act. But a federal Equal Pay Act claim doesn't use that list, so let's base the offer on the range and her experience and write that down. Her expectation is $50,000."

When the candidate volunteers current pay

"Thanks. We set pay from the role, so the useful number is what you're looking for." Record the expectation only; see what not to write in interview notes.

Mississippi summary

Mississippi checklist

1. Decide whether your desk needs pay history at all; the state factor does not help in a federal case.
2. Share the range and ask for expectations; document competing offers when they drive the number.
3. Keep salary history off applications for City of Jackson roles and never act on a refusal for Alabama roles.
4. Record job-related reasons for each offer, and keep volunteered figures out of the ATS and submittals.
5. Check the state where a remote hire will work against our salary history ban states list.