Texas salary history ban: no state law, and what still applies (2026)

Texas has no salary history ban. As of October 2026, no Texas statute stops a private employer, staffing agency or recruiter from asking a candidate what they earn now or earned before, or from using the answer, and the only bill to change that in the 2025 session died in committee. Cities cannot fill the gap for private employers, because Labor Code section 1.005 reserves "hiring practices" to the state. What still applies is federal equal pay law, the Texas anti-discrimination statute, and other states' bans when the person you hire will work outside Texas.

Is there a salary history ban in Texas?

No. The Texas Commission on Human Rights Act, in chapter 21 of the Labor Code, is the state's main employment discrimination law, and it contains no rule about asking for pay history. Our guide to hiring employees in Texas and Texas background check laws page reach the same conclusion for private employers.

The clearest evidence is the bill that tried to create one. House Bill 835 of the 89th Legislature (2025) would have added a new chapter 24 to the Labor Code making it an unlawful employment practice to seek an applicant's wage history "from the applicant or from a previous employer of the applicant," or to require it as a condition of employment. Its official history shows it was filed on November 12, 2024, referred to the House Subcommittee on Workforce on March 5, 2025, and never acted on again. The regular session ended without it, so the bill died. No regular session met in 2026: under Government Code § 301.001, the Legislature convenes in regular session in January of each odd-numbered year.

Can Texas cities ban salary history questions?

Not for private employers, on the face of the statute. Labor Code section 1.005, added by House Bill 2127 of 2023 and in effect since September 1, 2023, says a municipality or county "may not adopt, enforce, or maintain" an ordinance "regulating conduct in a field of regulation that is occupied by a provision of this code," and that such an ordinance is "void." Subsection (b) says the occupied field includes "employment leave, hiring practices, breaks, employment benefits, scheduling practices, and any other terms of employment" for employers other than a municipality or county.

A city ordinance telling private employers what they may ask in an interview is a rule about hiring practices. The Texas Workforce Commission's guidebook for employers already reads section 1.005 as having "essentially nullified" Austin's local ban-the-box ordinance as of September 1, 2023, and the same reasoning reaches a salary history ordinance. We found no Texas city with a private-employer salary history ordinance.

Two caveats. First, the carve-out for employers that are "a municipality or county" means a Texas city can still decide not to ask its own job applicants about pay. Second, the law is still being litigated. In State of Texas v. City of Houston, the Third Court of Appeals reversed a trial court judgment against the law on July 18, 2025, and the court docket shows a petition for review filed in the Supreme Court of Texas in June 2026. Until that court rules otherwise, section 1.005 is in force.

What federal law still applies to pay history in Texas?

• The Equal Pay Act. 29 U.S.C. § 206(d) bars paying one sex less than the other for equal work unless the difference comes from seniority, merit, production, or "any other factor other than sex." Prior salary is the factor most often challenged.
• The EEOC's position on prior salary. Section 10 of the EEOC Compliance Manual, Compensation Discrimination, still posted on eeoc.gov as of October 2026, says: "Prior salary cannot, by itself, justify a compensation disparity." It adds that the defense can succeed if the employer shows sex was not a factor and that other factors were also considered.
• Title VII and the Texas Act. Title VII and Labor Code § 21.051 both bar discrimination "in connection with compensation." The Texas Act covers employers with 15 or more employees under section 21.002.
• Federal contractors. The OFCCP pay transparency provision (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 the Labor Department has since rescinded the order's regulations, including 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. Our federal contractor posting guide covers what is left for contractors.

None of these bans the question. They make the answer risky to rely on: an offer built on "what she makes now" is the evidence an equal pay claim starts from.

Which other states' bans can reach a Texas employer?

A ban in the state where the hire will work can apply even though the employer is based in Texas. A Dallas company hiring a remote engineer who will work from Denver is hiring a Colorado employee, and Colorado's ban has no size threshold and no exception for a volunteered figure. The same issue comes up with candidates in California, Colorado, New York, Illinois and Washington. Each state page explains who it covers, and the full list is on our salary history ban states page.

For a staffing agency in Houston or San Antonio that fills roles nationally, the practical answer is one process for every search: no pay history questions, range first, expectations second. Tracking which candidate lives where costs more than it saves.

What may a Texas recruiter ask, and what is risky?

Texas at a glance

Should you ask about salary history in Texas anyway?

You can, but there are three reasons most Texas desks stop:

• The number travels. A current salary typed into the ATS or the submittal follows the candidate to every client and every later search, including searches in states where you may not use it.
• It does not predict the hire. The candidate's expectation and your client's range decide whether an offer lands. What someone was paid by another company answers neither question.
• It weakens the equal pay defense. If an offer is challenged, a file that shows the range, the job-related reasons for the figure and the candidate's stated expectation is easier to defend than one that shows current pay plus a fixed bump.

Setting the range before the search starts is covered in how to set salary ranges for job postings.

A Texas script

Opening the pay topic

"The range for this role is $78,000 to $90,000 plus a 10% bonus target (example figures). What are you looking for to make a move?" More wording is in salary expectation questions.

When the client asks for current salary

"Texas doesn't stop us asking, but we don't, because half our candidates could end up working from states where it's banned. Her expectation is $86,000, inside your range."

When the candidate volunteers it

"Thanks. We set offers from the range, so I'll note what you're looking for rather than what you earn now." Then record the expectation only; see what not to write in interview notes.

Checklist for Texas searches

1. Confirm where the hire will work. If it is outside Texas, apply that state's rule.
2. Get the range from the client before the first call.
3. Ask expectations, not history, on every screen and reference call.
4. Keep current pay out of the ATS, notes and submittals.
5. Write down the job-related reasons for where each offer sits in the range.

For licensing, E-Verify and recording rules on the same searches, see Texas staffing agency licensing and Texas recording consent for interviews.