New Hampshire salary history ban: no state law, the 2019 bill the governor vetoed, and three neighbors that ban the question

New Hampshire has no law that bars employers from asking job candidates about their salary history, as of November 2026. It came close in 2019: the Legislature passed House Bill 211, which would have barred the question until an offer with compensation was made, but Governor Sununu vetoed it on July 10, 2019, and the House override vote of 224 to 157 fell short of two-thirds on September 18, 2019, according to the General Court's docket. No salary history bill appears in the 2025 or 2026 sessions. What does apply is the state equal pay law, RSA 275:37, which binds any "employer or person seeking employees," and the bans in every state on New Hampshire's border: Maine, Vermont and Massachusetts.

Is it illegal to ask about salary history in New Hampshire?

No. The table of contents for RSA chapter 275, the labor chapter where a ban would sit, has no salary history section; the section number HB 211 would have created, 275:41-e, now holds a provision on volunteer firefighters and emergency medical technicians. The state's Law Against Discrimination, RSA 354-A:7, bars an employer from discriminating "in compensation" because of age, sex, gender identity, race and other protected traits, but it says nothing about asking for pay history. Private and public employers may ask, and a candidate may decline.

That matches our guide to hiring employees in New Hampshire and New Hampshire background check laws, which found no state limit on salary history or credit questions.

What would HB 211 have done?

The final text of HB 211, "relative to inquiries by prospective employers concerning salary history," would have added RSA 275:41-e with two short paragraphs:

"I. No employer shall inquire about a prospective employee's wage or salary history before an offer of employment with compensation has been negotiated and made to the prospective employee, unless a prospective employee has voluntarily disclosed such information.

II. No employer shall use an employee's prior wage and salary history as a defense to any action alleging wage or salary discrimination under state law."

The official docket shows how close it came. The House passed it as amended, 212 to 139, on February 14, 2019. In the Senate the Commerce Committee recommended killing it, that motion failed 11 to 13 on May 30, 2019, and the bill then passed 13 to 11. Governor Sununu vetoed it on July 10, 2019, and on September 18, 2019 the House voted 224 to 157 to override, "Lacking Necessary Two-Thirds Vote."

Paragraph II is the part recruiters should notice. Because the bill failed, nothing in New Hampshire's statutes takes prior pay off the table as a defense to a state equal pay claim. Whether that defense would actually work is a separate question, covered below.

Is any salary history bill pending in 2025 or 2026?

No. A title search of the General Court's bill status system for the 2025 and 2026 sessions, run in November 2026 for "salary," "wage," "compensation," "pay," "hiring" and "applicant," turns up no salary history bill. The only pay bill is HB 1123 (2026), which would have required employers with 50 or more employees to post salary ranges. The labor committee recommended inexpedient to legislate by a 10 to 9 vote, and the House agreed, 193 to 149, on February 5, 2026. It said nothing about salary history. Our New Hampshire pay transparency page covers that bill and the pay notice rules that do exist.

What does New Hampshire's equal pay law say about prior pay?

RSA 275:37(I) says "No employer or person seeking employees shall discriminate between employees on the basis of sex" by paying one sex less "for equal work that requires equal skill, effort, and responsibility and is performed under similar working conditions," unless the payment is made under one of six exceptions. Compared with the federal Equal Pay Act:

The remedies are real. An employer that violates RSA 275:37 owes the unpaid wages "and an additional equal amount of liquidated damages" (RSA 275:39). Suits must be brought within three years of discovering the violation and cannot reach violations more than four years old (RSA 275:41), and a violation can also bring a fine of up to $2,500 (RSA 275:40).

Two related rules protect pay conversations once someone is hired. RSA 275:38-a bars retaliation against an employee who "inquired about, discussed, or disclosed his or her wages or those of another employee," and RSA 275:41-b bars making wage secrecy a condition of employment. A recruiter who tells a candidate "don't share what we're offering" is on the wrong side of the second one.

Do New Hampshire cities have salary history rules?

We found none. In November 2026 we searched Manchester's code on American Legal Publishing and Concord's code on Municode for "salary history," "wage history," "compensation history" and "pay history," and neither has a provision. We did not check Nashua's code for this page; if you hire for the city of Nashua itself, check it.

Which federal rules apply in New Hampshire?

• Equal Pay Act. 29 U.S.C. 206(d)(1) allows a pay difference for equal work only under a seniority, merit or production system or "a differential based on any other factor other than sex." 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," because prior salaries "can reflect sex-based compensation discrimination."
• Title VII. 42 U.S.C. 2000e-2(a) bars compensation discrimination by employers with 15 or more employees.
• Federal contractors. The OFCCP pay transparency rule, 41 CFR 60-1.35, is gone: Executive Order 14173 revoked Executive Order 11246, and the Labor Department's final rule removed part 60-1 effective October 26, 2026 (91 FR 54444). The National Labor Relations Act still protects most private-sector employees who discuss their wages, on top of RSA 275:38-a.

Do the Maine, Vermont and Massachusetts bans reach New Hampshire recruiters?

Yes, whenever the job is in one of them, and New Hampshire is unusual in that every state on its border bans the question:

• Massachusetts. M.G.L. c. 149, section 105A(c)(2) bars seeking pay history, from the candidate or a current or former employer, before an offer with compensation. Our Massachusetts salary history page covers the Attorney General's view that the ban reaches recruiters acting for an employer, which matters to every Nashua or Salem desk filling roles in Lowell, Lawrence or Boston.
• Maine. 26 M.R.S. section 628-A bars asking until an offer that includes all terms of compensation has been negotiated and made; see the Maine salary history ban.
• Vermont. 21 V.S.A. section 495m bars the question and screening on pay; see the Vermont salary history ban.

For an agency working on both sides of the border, the practical answer is one process: never ask, and keep any volunteered figure out of the file. Remote roles also raise the pay range question, covered in pay transparency for remote jobs.

Should a New Hampshire recruiter ask about current pay?

Agency licensing and other screening rules are in New Hampshire staffing agency licensing and E-Verify requirements in New Hampshire.

A New Hampshire script

Opening the pay topic

"This role pays $68,000 to $78,000 plus benefits (example figures). What would you need to make a move?" More wording is in salary expectation questions.

When the client in Massachusetts asks what the candidate earns now

"For a Massachusetts job I can't ask that, and it applies to us as your recruiter. Her expectation is $76,000."

When a New Hampshire candidate volunteers current pay

"Thanks. We price the role from its range, so the number I'll pass on is what you're looking for." Record the expectation only.

New Hampshire summary

New Hampshire checklist

1. Adopt a no-pay-history policy for every desk, because the jobs next door are covered by bans.
2. Share the range first and ask for expectations.
3. Record the job-related reason for each offer in the words of RSA 275:37(I): experience, education, training, expertise, shift.
4. Keep volunteered figures out of notes and submittals; see what not to write in interview notes.
5. Take pay confidentiality language out of offer letters and handbooks.
6. Check the state where the job is located before every search; the full list is in salary history ban states.