Salary history ban states: the list, and what happens when a candidate volunteers pay
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As of October 2026, about twenty states and territories bar employers from asking job candidates about their pay history, and many cities have their own rules. The laws agree on the core: do not ask what a candidate earns or earned, from them or from a former employer, and do not use it to set pay. Where they differ is the edge cases recruiters actually meet, especially what to do when a candidate volunteers a number, and whether pay can be confirmed after an offer.
This page lists the bans we verified, sorted by how each treats volunteered history and verification, plus the local bans and the states that forbid them. For how to ask about pay expectations instead, with wording that works on a call, see salary expectation questions; for posting pay ranges, see pay transparency laws by state.
Not legal advice. This page summarizes the statutes, city codes and state agency pages linked below as of October 2026. Some states also have bans covering only public employers, which are not listed here, and we did not verify every city's law. Coverage, remedies and effective dates vary. Check the law where the job is located, and where the candidate lives if different, before relying on this.
The states, by how they treat volunteered history
The first table covers states whose laws are summarized in detail in our salary expectation questions guide; the second covers states not in that guide. Both are limited to laws that reach private employers.
States covered in the salary expectations guide
| Jurisdiction | If the candidate volunteers it, or after an offer | Source |
|---|---|---|
| California | May not seek it, personally or through an agent; expectations may be asked | Labor Code § 432.3 |
| Colorado | May not seek or rely on wage rate history | CDLE |
| Connecticut | May not ask unless the candidate volunteers it | Gen. Stat. § 31-40z |
| District of Columbia | May not screen on or seek wage history | D.C. Law 25-138 |
| Illinois | May not ask or use it, even if volunteered, according to the state labor department | IDOL FAQ |
| Maine | May not ask until an offer with compensation terms has been negotiated | 26 M.R.S. § 628-A |
| Maryland | May not seek it; after an initial offer, voluntarily provided history may support a higher wage | Lab. & Empl. § 3-304.2 |
| Massachusetts | May not seek it before an offer with compensation | M.G.L. c. 149 § 105F |
| Minnesota | May not inquire; expectations may be discussed | Minn. Stat. § 363A.08 |
| New Jersey | May not screen on it; may consider it if volunteered | P.L. 2019, c. 199 |
| New York State | May not seek or rely on it; may confirm only if the candidate cites it in response to an offer to support a higher wage | Labor Law § 194-a |
| Vermont | May not ask; expectations may be asked | 21 V.S.A. § 495m |
| Virginia | May not seek or rely on it; history volunteered without prompting may support a higher offer | Va. Code § 40.1-28.7:12 |
| Washington | May not seek it; may confirm if volunteered or after an offer | RCW 49.58.100 |
States and territories not covered there
| Jurisdiction | What is banned | Volunteered history and verification | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Not a ban on asking. An employer may not refuse to interview, hire, promote or employ an applicant, or retaliate, because the applicant does not provide wage history | Asking is not prohibited, but declining to answer cannot count against the candidate | Ala. Code § 25-1-30 |
| Delaware | Screening on compensation history, and seeking it from the applicant or a current or former employer | Compensation may be discussed; history may be confirmed after an offer with compensation terms has been made and accepted. A separate pay range disclosure law takes effect September 26, 2027 | 19 Del. C. § 709B |
| Hawaii | Asking about salary history, and relying on it to set pay | If the applicant discloses it voluntarily and without prompting, the employer may consider and verify it; expectations may be discussed. Internal transfers and promotions are excluded | HRS § 378-2.4 |
| Nevada | Seeking wage or salary history, relying on it for an offer or pay rate, and acting against an applicant who will not provide it | No exception for volunteered history appears in the text. Expectations may be asked. The employer must give the pay range to an applicant who has interviewed | NRS 613.133 |
| Oregon | Seeking salary history from the applicant or a current or former employer | May confirm prior compensation with written authorization after an offer that includes an amount of compensation | ORS 659A.357 |
| Rhode Island | Relying on or seeking wage history | After an initial offer with compensation, may rely on voluntarily provided history to support a higher wage and may confirm it. The wage range must be provided on request and before discussing compensation | R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-6-22 |
| Puerto Rico | Asking an applicant, or a current or former employer, about current salary or salary history | If volunteered, may be confirmed; after compensation has been negotiated and an offer made, may be asked about or confirmed | Act 16 of 2017, art. 4 (text read on LexJuris, a non-government publisher) |
Local bans
Cities and counties add their own rules. Four examples, checked against their codes:
| City | Coverage and rule | Notable exceptions | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia | No inquiring about or requiring wage history, and no relying on it unless the applicant knowingly and willingly disclosed it. The Third Circuit upheld both the inquiry and reliance provisions in February 2020 | Knowing, willing disclosure for the reliance rule | Code § 9-1131; Third Circuit opinion |
| Kansas City, Missouri | Employers with six or more employees may not inquire, screen or rely on history | Voluntary, unprompted disclosure; internal moves; rehires within five years | Code § 38-102 |
| Cincinnati | Employers with 15 or more employees in the city may not inquire, screen or rely on history; pay scale on request after a conditional offer | Voluntary disclosure; internal moves; rehires within five years | Code ch. 804 |
| Columbus, Ohio | Employers with 15 or more employees may not inquire, screen, or rely solely on history. A 2025 amendment adds pay ranges in postings, which the city says it will not enforce before January 1, 2027 | Voluntary disclosure; rehires within three years | Code ch. 2335 |
New York City has its own ban on top of the state's, covered in the salary expectations guide. Other cities we did not verify for this page, including Toledo and San Francisco, also have laws, so check the city where the job sits.
States that block local bans
- Wisconsin. 2017 Wisconsin Act 327 says an employer "may solicit information regarding the salary history of prospective employees," and bars cities, villages, towns and counties from enacting or enforcing a ban.
- Michigan. MCL 123.1384, from 2015, bars local governments from regulating the information an employer must request, require or exclude on an application or during the interview process. It does not mention salary history by name; reading it as blocking local salary history bans is an inference, though the usual one.
Neither state has a statewide ban on private employers asking. That does not make the question a good idea there; see below.
When the candidate volunteers a number anyway
This is the moment the tables matter, and the safest response is the same everywhere:
| Situation | What to say | What to avoid |
|---|---|---|
| "I'm on 95 at the moment." | "Thanks. We set pay from the role and the range, not from current salary, so let me tell you the range and ask what you're looking for." | Writing "current: 95k" in the ATS or the submittal |
| Candidate asks whether you need their pay slip | "No, we don't ask for pay history. What matters is whether the range works for you." | Accepting documents "just for the file" |
| Client asks "what's she on now?" | "I don't ask that, and in several states the law applies to recruiters too. Her expectation is 100 to 110." | Passing on a volunteered figure because the candidate "didn't mind" |
| Candidate cites a competing offer or forfeited bonus to push the offer up | Note the expectation and the reason as the candidate framed it, then check the local rule before anyone verifies anything | Calling the current employer to confirm |
Even where a state allows considering volunteered history, recording it creates a record that pay was set from it, which is exactly what equal pay claims look for. Keep it out of notes and submittals, as described in what not to write in interview notes.
One process for every state
- Remove current and previous salary fields from application forms, screening questionnaires and ATS required fields.
- Share the range early and ask for expectations, worded so the answer is not a disguised history question.
- Do not ask former employers or references about pay, and tell background check vendors not to report it.
- If pay history is volunteered, do not record it; record the expectation instead.
- Set offers from the role's range, the candidate's skills and internal equity, and write down the reasons.
- If verification after an offer is allowed and genuinely needed, follow the specific state's conditions, such as Oregon's written authorization.
- Check the city as well as the state, and recheck the list each year; several states expanded their pay laws in 2025 and 2026.
Interview questions about pay sit alongside other risky topics covered in illegal interview questions.
Questions people ask
Which states ban salary history questions?
As of October 2026, statewide bans covering private employers that we verified are in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and Washington, plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Alabama's law is narrower: it bars refusing to interview or hire someone for not providing wage history.
Can I use salary history if the candidate volunteers it?
It depends on the state. Hawaii and New Jersey allow considering history that is volunteered, Maryland, Virginia and Rhode Island allow it to support a higher offer in limited circumstances, and Illinois does not allow using it even if volunteered. Nevada's law contains no exception for volunteered history. The safest habit is not to record or rely on it anywhere.
Can I verify a candidate's salary after making an offer?
In several states, yes, within limits. Delaware allows confirming compensation history after an offer with compensation terms has been made and accepted, Oregon after an offer that includes compensation and with written authorization, and Rhode Island after an initial offer. Other states are stricter, so check the specific law.
Do any states prohibit cities from passing salary history bans?
Yes. Wisconsin's 2017 Act 327 says employers may ask about salary history and bars cities, villages, towns and counties from enacting or enforcing bans. Michigan's 2015 law bars local governments from regulating what employers ask on applications or in interviews, which is generally read as covering salary history, although it does not name it.
Is asking about salary expectations allowed in these states?
Generally yes. Several laws, including those in California, Minnesota, Nevada, Vermont and Hawaii, expressly allow asking about expectations, and Massachusetts allows it if the question is not framed to elicit history.