New Jersey salary history ban: N.J.S.A. 34:6B-20 for recruiters
On this page
- The statute
- Who is covered
- What is banned and what is allowed
- Multistate application forms
- How it works with the New Jersey pay range law
- Enforcement and penalties
- Sales and commission roles
- When salary history reaches you anyway
- The "what do you make now?" moment: a script
- A New Jersey checklist
- Questions people ask
New Jersey makes it an unlawful employment practice to screen job applicants based on their salary history or to require that history to meet a minimum or maximum. The law, P.L. 2019, c. 199, is codified at N.J.S.A. 34:6B-20 and took effect on January 1, 2020. It is more permissive than most bans about a number the candidate volunteers: the employer may consider and verify it. It is also one of the few laws with a rule written specifically for employment agencies, which may hold a candidate's pay history but may not pass it to a client without written consent.
Not legal advice. This page summarizes P.L. 2019, c. 199 as published by the New Jersey Legislature, as of October 2026. We read the enacted law; check the current codified text of N.J.S.A. 34:6B-20 for any later amendment and get New Jersey counsel before relying on it.
The statute
Section 1 of P.L. 2019, c. 199, codified as N.J.S.A. 34:6B-20, makes it unlawful for any employer:
- "(1) to screen a job applicant based on the applicant's salary history, including, but not limited to, the applicant's prior wages, salaries or benefits; or"
- "(2) to require that the applicant's salary history satisfy any minimum or maximum criteria."
The operative text speaks of screening, not asking. But the Act is titled "An Act concerning employer inquiries regarding salary history," its synopsis says it "prohibits employer inquiries," and its permission for employers to use volunteered history applies only where the applicant provided it "without employer prompting or coercion." The multistate form rule below also assumes that, without a disclaimer, a salary history question would be a problem. The safe working rule for a recruiter is the same as everywhere else: do not ask.
Who is covered
- Employers. The section applies to "any employer." It excludes applications for internal transfer or promotion and the employer's use of what it already knows from the person's prior employment with it.
- Employment agencies. Subsection d. covers agencies directly. An applicant may give salary history, including commission plan details, to "an employment agency contacted by the applicant for assistance in searching for and identifying employment opportunities," but "the employment agency shall not share the information with potential employers without the express written consent of the applicant."
That agency rule is unusual and practical. It accepts that a candidate may tell their own recruiter what they earn, and puts the control in the candidate's hands. If you work New Jersey roles, decide whether you want to hold this information at all; if you do, keep it out of anything that reaches the client unless you have written consent.
What is banned and what is allowed
| Situation | New Jersey rule |
|---|---|
| Screening on current or past pay, wages or benefits | Banned (subsection a.) |
| Minimum or maximum prior-pay criteria | Banned (subsection a.) |
| Candidate volunteers pay "without employer prompting or coercion" | Employer may consider it in setting salary, benefits and other compensation, and may verify it (b.(1)) |
| Candidate declines to volunteer | Refusal "shall not be considered in any employment decisions" (b.(1)) |
| Confirming history after an offer | Employer may request written authorization to confirm it after an offer that includes an explanation of the overall compensation package (b.(2)) |
| Background checks | Allowed for non-salary information, if the employer specifies salary history is not to be disclosed; if it is disclosed anyway, it may not be retained or considered (c.(3)) |
| Questions about incentive and commission plans | Allowed about plan terms if the role has an incentive or commission component, but not about the amount earned (c.(4)) |
| Publicly available salary information | May be acquired, but not retained or considered unless the applicant volunteers history (h.) |
Multistate application forms
Subsection g. lets an employer that "does business, employs persons, or takes applications for employment in at least one state other than New Jersey" include a salary history question on an application, as long as immediately before it the form tells applicants for positions located in whole or substantial part in New Jersey not to answer. That is the opposite of New York City's position, where a disclaimer does not cure the question. A national form that must work in both places should simply drop the question.
How it works with the New Jersey pay range law
New Jersey's separate Pay and Benefit Transparency Act requires covered employers to include pay and benefit information in postings; our New Jersey pay transparency guide covers the employer threshold, what a posting must say and the different treatment of temporary help firms. Agency desks should also read pay transparency for staffing agencies. With a range in hand, there is no reason for the screen to touch the candidate's current pay.
Enforcement and penalties
- Civil penalties. An employer that violates the section is liable for a civil penalty of up to $1,000 for the first violation, $5,000 for the second and $10,000 for each subsequent violation, collectible by the Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development under the Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999 (e.(1)).
- Law Against Discrimination. If the applicant is a member of a protected class, section 2 of the Act makes the same screening conduct an unlawful employment practice under the Law Against Discrimination. The Act bars punitive damages for that claim and amended the LAD so attorney's fees are not available for it.
Sales and commission roles
Subsection c.(4) is written for sales hiring. If the opening includes an incentive or commission component as part of total compensation, the employer may ask about the candidate's previous experience with incentive and commission plans and the plans' terms and conditions. It may not seek or require the amount the candidate earned under them. For a role with no incentive component, the employer may not ask about the candidate's past plans at all.
| Fine for a commission role | Not fine |
|---|---|
| "Was your last plan uncapped, and how were accelerators triggered?" | "What did you take home in commission last year?" |
| "How was quota set, and what share of the team usually hit it?" | "What's your on-target earnings now?" |
| "Were commissions paid monthly or quarterly?" | "Send me a commission statement so I can see your numbers." |
When salary history reaches you anyway
The law anticipates that pay information may arrive without anyone asking for it. A background check report might include it despite instructions, or the information may be publicly available, as with many public-sector salaries. If a background check discloses salary history despite the instruction, subsection c.(3) says the employer "shall not retain that information or consider it." Publicly available information may be acquired, but under subsection h. it may not be retained or considered unless the applicant volunteered their history without prompting. For a recruiter, that means deleting it from the file, not forwarding the report page that contains it, and not mentioning it to the hiring manager.
The "what do you make now?" moment: a script
Instead of asking
"This role pays $60,000 to $72,000 plus health benefits and a retirement match (example figures). What are you looking for?"
When the candidate volunteers it to you, the agency recruiter
"Thanks. I won't share that with the client unless you tell me in writing that I can, and honestly you don't need to. Let's go with your expectation: $68,000?"
When the candidate wants the client to know
Some candidates want their current pay used to push an offer up. New Jersey allows the employer to consider it if volunteered. Get the candidate's written consent before passing it on, for example a short email: "I'm happy for you to share my current salary of [amount] with [client]."
When the client asks
"New Jersey doesn't let you screen on pay history, and I can't share a candidate's history without their written consent. Her expectation is $68,000."
A New Jersey checklist
- Remove salary history questions and minimum prior-pay screens for New Jersey roles; for national forms, drop the question rather than relying on the disclaimer.
- Tell background check vendors in writing that salary history is not to be reported.
- For commission roles, ask about plan structure, not earnings.
- If you hold a candidate's pay history, store it apart from client-facing records and share it only with written consent.
- Record expectations in submittals; see salary expectation questions.
See how New Jersey's treatment of volunteered pay compares with other states in salary history ban states.
Questions people ask
Can a New Jersey employer consider salary history a candidate volunteers?
Yes. N.J.S.A. 34:6B-20 lets the employer consider and verify salary history if the applicant provides it voluntarily, without employer prompting or coercion. A refusal to volunteer pay information cannot be considered in any employment decision.
Can a New Jersey staffing agency share a candidate's salary with a client?
Only with the candidate's express written consent. The law lets an applicant give salary history to an employment agency they contacted for help finding work, but the agency may not share it with potential employers without that consent.
Can a multistate application ask about salary history in New Jersey?
An employer that does business, employs people or takes applications in at least one other state may include the question if, immediately before it, the form tells applicants for New Jersey-located positions not to answer.
What are the penalties under New Jersey's salary history law?
Civil penalties of up to $1,000 for a first violation, $5,000 for a second and $10,000 for each later violation, collected by the Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development. For applicants in a protected class, a violation is also an unlawful employment practice under the Law Against Discrimination.