New York salary history ban: Labor Law 194-a and the NYC rule

New York State bars employers from asking job applicants and current employees about pay history and from relying on it to decide whether to hire or what to pay. Labor Law section 194-a has applied to all public and private employers since January 6, 2020, and it goes further than most bans on one point recruiters care about: it names employment agents and recruiters as employers. New York City has its own, older rule on top. The working rule for a New York desk is to share the range, ask about expectations, and never ask what someone earns.

The statute

Labor Law section 194-a, "Wage or salary history inquiries prohibited," says no employer shall:

• "rely on the wage or salary history of an applicant in determining whether to offer employment to such individual or in determining the wages or salary for such individual" (194-a(1)(a));
• orally or in writing "seek, request, or require" pay history from an applicant or current employee as a condition of being interviewed, considered, employed or promoted (194-a(1)(b));
• seek pay history from a current or former employer, a current or former employee, or an agent of the former employer (194-a(1)(c)); or
• refuse to interview, hire or promote, or otherwise retaliate against, someone because of their pay history or because they did not provide it (194-a(1)(d) and (e)).

The Department of Labor confirms the ban took effect January 6, 2020.

Who is covered: recruiters by name

Section 194-a(4) defines "employer" to include "any agent thereof," every level of state and local government, and "any person, corporation, limited liability company, association or entity acting as an employment agent, recruiter, or otherwise connecting applicants with employers." A contingency recruiter, a retained search firm and a staffing agency are all inside that definition when they work New York roles. You do not need to argue about whether you are the client's agent; the statute treats you as the employer for this section.

The law protects applicants and current employees. The state's guidance page adds that it does not apply to bona fide independent contractors, freelancers or other contract workers unless they will work through an employment agency, and that it covers employers across the state, including New York City.

What is banned and what is allowed

On volunteered figures, the statute and the state's guidance sit slightly apart. The statute bans relying on pay history and allows confirmation only at the offer stage. The state's guidance page says an employer may factor in voluntarily disclosed information when setting pay. The conservative course for a recruiter is the statute's: do not use or pass on a volunteered number, and if a candidate cites their pay to push back on an offer, let the client decide whether to confirm it.

New York City's rule on top

The NYC Human Rights Law has banned salary history inquiries since October 31, 2017. The Commission on Human Rights FAQ fills in details the state law leaves open:

• Any size employer hiring for jobs in the city is covered. Internal transfers and promotions are not.
• No disclaimers. A multistate application form that asks pay history is not saved by telling New York City applicants to skip the question.
• No headhunter exemption. Headhunters who qualify as employers, employment agencies or agents, or who aid and abet a violation, may be liable.
• Candidate's own agent. Someone negotiating for the candidate may share the candidate's pay history only with the candidate's consent; the Commission suggests getting that consent in writing.
• Allowed questions. Expectations; competing offers and counteroffers and their value; whether the candidate would forfeit deferred compensation or unvested equity, its value and structure; and objective performance measures such as sales volume or book of business. Commission amounts and profit percentages are off limits.
• Volunteered history. If the applicant discloses it voluntarily and without prompting, the employer may consider, verify and rely on it. "Without prompting" means the average applicant would not think the employer encouraged it.

How it works with New York's pay range law

Labor Law 194-b requires employers with four or more employees, including employment agencies and recruiters, to state a pay range in advertisements for roles in New York or reporting to a New York supervisor or office. The two laws work as a pair: the posting gives the candidate the number, and 194-a stops the conversation from turning to theirs. Our New York pay transparency guide covers 194-b and the city overlay, and pay transparency for staffing agencies covers who posts what when an agency is involved.

Enforcement and penalties

• Lawsuit. An applicant, current or former employee may sue "for compensation for any damages sustained," individually or on behalf of others similarly situated; the court may award injunctive relief and reasonable attorneys' fees (194-a(5)).
• State complaint. The Department of Labor accepts complaints about salary history inquiries and retaliation through its Division of Labor Standards.
• Retaliation. Refusing to interview or hire someone because they filed a complaint is itself a violation (194-a(1)(f)).
• New York City. City violations are handled under the Human Rights Law through the Commission on Human Rights, separately from the state process.

The "what do you make now?" moment: a script

Instead of asking

"This role pays $95,000 to $115,000 base plus a 10% bonus target (example figures). What base are you looking for in your next move, and is that a floor or a target?"

When the candidate volunteers it

"Thanks. I don't need to know what you earn now, and I won't pass it on. Let's work from what you want: you said $110,000 is your floor?"

When the candidate is leaving equity behind (New York City role)

"Is there unvested equity or a deferred bonus you'd give up by moving? If so, roughly what is it worth and when does it vest? The client may be able to account for it in the offer."

When the client asks

"In New York the law treats recruiters as employers for this, so I can't ask. His expectation is $110,000 minimum, and he has a $20,000 unvested grant vesting in March that he'd want addressed."

At the offer, if the candidate pushes back with their pay

"Understood. I'll take that to the client. If they want to confirm it, they'll ask you for documentation directly." This is the one moment 194-a(3) allows confirmation, and only because the candidate raised it.

A checklist for New York roles

1. Strip pay history fields from forms used for New York roles, including multistate forms with disclaimers.
2. Share the posted range first, then ask expectations, using wording from salary expectation questions.
3. Never call references or former employers about pay, and ask background vendors to exclude it.
4. Record expectations, competing-offer timing and forfeited equity (for city roles), not current pay.
5. If a candidate's own agent shares pay history, ask for the candidate's written consent before using it.

For other states' versions of the same rule, see salary history ban states.