Pennsylvania salary history ban: Philadelphia's ordinance, state agencies and HB 630 (2026)

Pennsylvania has no statewide salary history ban for private employers as of October 2026, but Philadelphia does. Philadelphia Code section 9-1131 bars employers, employment agencies and their agents from asking about a candidate's wage history for any job located in Philadelphia, and the city has enforced it since September 1, 2020. State agencies under the Governor have been barred from asking since 2018, Pittsburgh bars only itself, and House Bill 630, a statewide rule, passed the House 102–101 in May 2025 and sits in a Senate committee.

Does Pennsylvania have a statewide salary history ban?

No. Our guide to hiring employees in Pennsylvania found no statewide rule, and the bill that would create one has not passed. House Bill 630 of the 2025–2026 session, sponsored by Representative Melissa Shusterman, would amend the state's 1959 Equal Pay Law. Its printed text would bar an employer from:

• relying on wage history from a current or former employer to decide whether to hire or how much to offer, unless the candidate provides it "voluntarily and without prompting" to support a higher wage;
• requiring wage disclosure as a condition of an interview, continued consideration or employment;
• seeking previous wages from a current or former employer, except to confirm them, with written authorization, after an offer with compensation when the candidate cites them to ask for more.

It would also remove the Equal Pay Law's exclusion of employees covered by section 6 of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, and it would take effect one year after enactment. The bill's history shows final House passage on May 5, 2025 by 102 votes to 101 and referral to the Senate Labor and Industry Committee on May 16, 2025, with no action since.

What does Philadelphia's ordinance prohibit?

The Wage Equity Ordinance, Bill No. 160840, was passed by City Council on December 8, 2016 and signed on January 23, 2017. It added section 9-1131 to the city's Fair Practices Ordinance. It is an unlawful employment practice for "an employer, employment agency, or employee or agent thereof":

• "To inquire about a prospective employee's wage history, require disclosure of wage history, or condition employment or consideration for an interview or employment on disclosure of wage history," or to retaliate against a candidate who does not answer;
• "To rely on the wage history of a prospective employee from any current or former employer" in setting pay at any stage, including negotiating a contract, "unless such applicant knowingly and willingly disclosed" it.

"To inquire" means asking "in writing or otherwise," and "wages" includes fringe benefits and other compensation. The only carve-out is for actions taken under a federal, state or local law that "specifically authorizes" wage history disclosure or verification. Enforcement waited on a First Amendment challenge; in Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce v. City of Philadelphia (February 2020), the Third Circuit upheld the ordinance, and the Commission on Human Relations began enforcing it on September 1, 2020.

Which employers and jobs does it cover?

According to the Commission's Wage Equity FAQ and Amended Regulation No. 7:

• Employers: any person who does business in Philadelphia through employees or employs one or more employees, including public agencies and the city itself.
• Employment agencies: anyone "regularly undertaking with or without compensation" to recruit, refer or place workers. Staffing firms and search firms are covered in their own right.
• Jobs: positions "located in Philadelphia." It "does not matter where the employer is headquartered or where the interview occurs." There is no bright-line test; the Commission looks at time spent in the city, an office or workstation there, and contacts such as customers and projects.
• Internal moves: a current employee's pay with the current employer is not covered, but the employer may not ask about or rely on pay from earlier employers.

What may you still ask in Philadelphia?

The volunteered-pay exception is narrow. Regulation 7.3 says a disclosure is without prompting only if the employer "has not encouraged the disclosure based on the overall context and the Employer's words or actions," and the FAQ quotes the Third Circuit's warning that an employer cannot "goad or cajole" a candidate into it. A recruiter who asks "is that range in line with what you have now?" has prompted the answer.

How is the Philadelphia ordinance enforced?

Applicants can report a violation or file a complaint with the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations. The FAQ says that if the Commission finds a violation it may award compensatory damages, punitive damages, reasonable attorneys' fees, costs, injunctive relief or other relief. Because section 9-1131 sits inside the Fair Practices Ordinance, employers must also post the Commission's fair practices notice where they employ people; the bill made failing to post it an unlawful practice.

The Commission's suggested practices, which it says are not required, read like a recruiting desk checklist: train interviewers, set ranges, do not ask current or former employers or search public records for pay, tell background check vendors to exclude salary, and set a protocol to isolate pay figures received by accident.

What about Pittsburgh and state agencies?

Pittsburgh. Ordinance 2017-1121, passed on January 24, 2017, added section 181.13, "Ensuring Wage Equity," to the city's personnel code. It binds the City of Pittsburgh only, with the same inquiry and reliance rules as Philadelphia, and it excludes sworn positions. Council's preamble only "encourages private companies" to follow suit; it does not require them to.

State agencies. Governor Wolf's Executive Order 2018-03 (June 6, 2018, effective after 90 days) says agencies under the Governor's jurisdiction "shall not inquire about a job applicant's current compensation or compensation history at any stage during the hiring process." Applicants may volunteer it, may refuse "without negative repercussions," and state postings must show the pay scale and range. The order creates no enforceable rights. The Office of Administration still publishes it on pa.gov.

What federal law applies everywhere in Pennsylvania?

Outside Philadelphia the question is lawful, but using the answer is constrained. The Equal Pay Act allows a pay gap between the sexes only for a "factor other than sex," and the EEOC's Compliance Manual says "Prior salary cannot, by itself, justify a compensation disparity." The OFCCP pay transparency provision for federal contractors (41 CFR 60-1.35) is no longer in force: it rested on Executive Order 11246, which Executive Order 14173 revoked on January 21, 2025, and its regulations were rescinded effective October 26, 2026 (91 FR 54444). The National Labor Relations Act still protects most private-sector employees who discuss their wages.

Searches that cross a state line pick up stricter rules: New Jersey for Camden or Trenton-area roles, Delaware for Wilmington, New York and Maryland.

Pennsylvania at a glance

A Philadelphia script

Opening the pay topic

"This role pays $72,000 to $80,000 plus benefits (example figures). What are you looking for?"

When the candidate asks whether you need their pay

"No. Philadelphia doesn't allow us to ask, and we set the offer from the range."

When the client asks

"The job is in Philadelphia, so we can't ask or pass on pay history. She's looking for $78,000 and has a competing offer at $76,000."

More wording is in salary expectation questions and how recruiters answer candidate salary questions.

Checklist for Pennsylvania searches

1. Decide whether the job is located in Philadelphia, using the Commission's factors. If in doubt, treat it as covered.
2. Use one application form with no salary history field; disclaimers do not cure it in Philadelphia.
3. Ask about expectations and competing offers, never current pay or whether the expectation tracks it.
4. Tell background check vendors to exclude salary, and keep pay off reference calls.
5. Keep any volunteered figure out of the ATS and the submittal.
6. Watch HB 630 in the Senate.

Related Pennsylvania pages: Pennsylvania background check laws, Pennsylvania staffing agency licensing and Pennsylvania recording consent for interviews.