Ban Salary History Questions

Section 2. This act shall take effect on the 180 day after it shall have become a law.

Difference between original and amended version (if applicable)

This is not applicable at this time.

Justification

Despite numerous New York State legislative and executive protections, the federal Equal Pay Act of 1963, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, and Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 that prohibit discrimination in the payment of wages, there remains a very real and pervasive pay gap that affects all women, and many minority and disabled groups. The salary history inquiry, a longstanding bulwark of employers and hiring managers during the job hiring process, is a pervasive form of discrimination that is thought to be reasonable without its initiators fully realizing its negative and biased effect.

A worker's salary history follows them throughout the course of their career. Low pay at an earlier job can affect salary at a later one as hiring managers often base their offers on previous wage compensation. Even seasoned or strong negotiators will find themselves with lower offers than individuals who earned more at an earlier position. Historically, workers who receive lower offers are women and minorities.

While many factors contribute to the gender pay gap, including occupational segregation, patterns of work or even direct or indirect discrimination, the disparity in earnings between women and men from the 2015 U.S. Census Bureau is hard to ignore. U.S. women working full time, year-round were paid just 80 percent of U.S. men's median earnings - a gap of 20 percent. In New York, that number was slightly better with an 89 percent median earnings ratio between genders - yet a gap still remains and can hardly be considered equal pay for equal work.

Although the gender pay gap has narrowed over time, according the American Association of University Women (AAUW), women are not expected to reach pay equity until 2059. If change continues at a slower growth rate seen since 2001, the pay gap is not expected to close until 2152.

Minority groups and people with disabilities face even larger pay gaps. For women of color, African American women in New York earn on average 66 cents on the dollar to non-Hispanic white men, while Hispanic women earn just 56 cents comparably. Asian American women fare better at 80 cents to that same dollar. However, the 2015 American Community Survey (ACS) by the U.S. Census Bureau found that both women and men of most racial minority groups were paid substantially less than non-Hispanic white workers. The ACS also shed light on earnings of people with disabilities. Those with disabilities made just 68 percent of what those without earned while within this population subset, there exists a large gender pay gap - median pay for women is 69 percent of that for men.

In the long-term, lower career wages result in an even greater disparity in retirement income, namely through smaller Social Security benefits which are calculated based on an individual's earning history. Median income for women 65 years or older is 44 percent less than the median income for men in the same age group. Women who are 75 years or older are almost twice as likely as men to live in poverty.

If this disparity begins at the onset of a career and is allowed to perpetuate, then the pay gap itself will never be rectified. This legislation would further protect prospective and current employees throughout New York from intentional and unintentional discrimination and would be a monumental move in the direction of pay equity for all.

Prior legislative history

This is new legislation.

Fiscal implications for state and local governments

There are no fiscal implications associated with the passage of this legislation.

Effective date

This act shall take effect on the 180 day after it shall have become a law.