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- Referred to investigations and government operations
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Prohibits employers from seeking salary history from prospective employees
In Assembly Committee · Governmental Operations · Sponsor Marcos Crespo
Full text
The text isn't available here yet. Check nysenate.gov.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the executive law, in relation to prohibiting employers from seeking salary history from prospective employees
Purpose or general idea of bill
In order to achieve fair pay, policymakers must enact laws that prevent gender based wage discrimination from the point when women enter the labor force. Asking prospective employees for wage history as a requirement for a job interview or job application or as condition for accepting a job is a discriminatory practice that must be banned.
Summary of specific provisions
Section 1 - Legislative Intent
Section 2 - Section 295 of the executive law is amended by adding a new subdivision 19-a to read as follows: It shall be unlawful discriminatory practice of any employer, labor organization, employment agency or licensing agency, or employees or agents thereof, to seek a salary history from a prospective employee for an interview or as a condition for employment.
Justification
The 1963 Equal Pay Act and the 1964 Civil Rights Act established the legal right to equal pay for equal work and equal opportunity in the United States. Yet, half a century later women and minorities are still paid less than their colleagues in comparable positions.
Employers who request salary histories from prospective employees often use these histories as the basis for justifying their offer of compensation. This practice disadvantages women and minorities who tend to have had lower salaries as the result of historical and structural inequalities. Not only does this result in disparate pay between employees at the same organizations and companies, but it serves to perpetuate broader socio-economic inequalities.
Prohibiting the practice of salary histories is a necessary step in enforcing equal pay laws like those passed by the federal government over 50 years ago. While the pay gap has narrowed since then, research has also shown that it has persisted. On average, women today make 79 percent of what men in the United States earn. For African American and Hispanic or Latina women this gap is even more significant, at 63 and 54 percent respectively of earnings by white (non-Hispanic) men.
At the current rate of change in compensation, women will not see pay parity with men until 2059. The use of salary histories contributes to the persistence of this gap and should be prohibited so that the playing field can be made more level for all those seeking employment.
Prior legislative history
New Bill.
Fiscal implications
None
Effective date
This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have become a law.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.