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Salary history laws, read at each state's statute and written for the person doing the hiring.

Hiring complianceRead at source, 24 September 2026

Salary History Ban States: Which Laws Stop You Asking About Pay, and What to Ask Instead

This is for employers hiring in more than one state, or anyone writing an application form. A salary history ban stops you from asking applicants what they earn now or earned before, and in many of these states also from relying on that number to decide whom to hire or what to pay. Statewide laws that reach private employers are in force in the states listed in the table below, plus the District of Columbia. Virginia’s law took effect July 1, 2026. There is no federal salary history ban. You can almost always ask what pay the applicant is looking for instead.

What a salary history ban is

A salary history ban is a law that stops employers from asking job applicants about their current or past pay, and usually from using that information to screen them or set their starting wage. The idea behind these laws, as Maine’s legislature put it in 26 M.R.S. 628-A, is that “when employers base compensation decisions on compensation history of a prospective employee, it directly perpetuates this wage inequality.”

The laws share a pattern but differ in the details. The main differences are:

Asking vs relying. Some laws bar only the question. Others also bar using pay history you learn another way. Alabama’s law does neither; it bars refusing to hire someone who declines to answer.
Who you cannot ask. Many bar asking the applicant and asking current or former employers. Some, such as California and Maryland, also cover asking through an agent, which can include recruiters and staffing firms.
What happens after an offer. Some let you confirm pay history after you make an offer. Others let you use only what the applicant volunteered, and only to support a higher offer.
Voluntary disclosure. Many laws expressly allow an applicant to volunteer the information “without prompting.” Asking “would you like to tell us your current pay?” is still prompting.

Salary history ban states: the statewide laws

These are the statewide laws that apply to private employers, read at source. The “what it bars” column is a summary; follow the link for the full text before you rely on it.

Statewide salary history laws covering private employers, read 24 September 2026
State	Law	What it bars	Notes
Alabama	Ala. Code 25-1-30(c)	Refusing to interview, hire, promote or employ, or retaliating, because the applicant does not provide wage history	Does not bar asking. It bars penalizing an applicant who declines to answer.
California	Cal. Labor Code 432.3	Seeking salary history (including compensation and benefits), orally or in writing, personally or through an agent; relying on it to decide whether to hire or what to pay	Applies to all employers, public and private. Labor Commissioner penalties of $100 to $10,000 per violation under the section.
Colorado	C.R.S. 8-5-102(2)	Seeking wage rate history or relying on it to set a wage rate; discriminating or retaliating against an applicant who declines to disclose it	Part of the Equal Pay for Equal Work Act.
Connecticut	Conn. Gen. Stat. 31-40z(b)	Inquiring, or directing a third party to inquire, about wage and salary history unless the applicant has voluntarily disclosed it	You may ask about other elements of the compensation structure, but not their value.
Delaware	19 Del. C. 709B	Screening applicants based on compensation history, including requiring it to meet minimum or maximum criteria; seeking it from the applicant or a current or former employer	After an offer is made and accepted, you may confirm history. Penalties $1,000 to $5,000 for a first violation, $5,000 to $10,000 after that.
District of Columbia	D.C. Code 32-1452	Screening on wage history, including requiring disclosure as a condition of being interviewed or considered; seeking wage history from a previous employer	Part of the District’s wage transparency law.
Hawaii	HRS 378-2.4	Inquiring about salary history (including searching public records for it); relying on it to set pay during hiring	You may discuss expectations. Does not apply to internal transfers or promotions.
Illinois	Illinois Equal Pay Act, 820 ILCS 112/10	Requesting or requiring wage or salary history as a condition of being considered; screening on it; asking a current or former employer	You may discuss the applicant’s pay expectations, per the Illinois Department of Labor.
Maine	26 M.R.S. 628-A	Using or inquiring about compensation history, from the applicant or a current or former employer	Allowed only after an offer with all terms of compensation has been negotiated and made.
Maryland	Md. Labor & Empl. 3-304.2	Seeking wage history, orally, in writing, or through an employee or agent; relying on it to screen or set wages	After an initial offer, you may use voluntarily provided history to support a higher offer.
Massachusetts	M.G.L. c. 149, 105A(c)(2)	Seeking wage or salary history from the applicant or a current or former employer; requiring it to meet certain criteria	You may confirm voluntarily disclosed history, or seek it after an offer with compensation has been negotiated and made.
Minnesota	Minn. Stat. 363A.08, subd. 8	Inquiring into, considering or requiring disclosure of pay history from any source to set compensation	Voluntarily disclosed history may be used to support a higher offer.
Nevada	NRS 613.133	Seeking wage or salary history; relying on it to decide whether to hire or what to pay; refusing to interview or hire an applicant who does not provide it	You may ask about pay expectations for the position.
New Jersey	P.L. 2019, c. 199 (N.J.S.A. 34:6B-20)	Screening applicants based on salary history; requiring it to meet minimum or maximum criteria	Voluntary disclosure allowed; verification with written authorization after an offer. Penalties up to $1,000, $5,000 and $10,000 for first, second and later violations.
New York	N.Y. Labor Law 194-a	Relying on wage or salary history to decide whether to hire or what to pay; seeking it; refusing to consider applicants who decline to provide it; retaliating	Applicants may disclose voluntarily and without prompting. Private right of action.
Oregon	ORS 659A.357	Seeking salary history from the applicant or a current or former employer	After an offer that states the pay, you may confirm with written authorization.
Rhode Island	R.I. Gen. Laws 28-6-22	Seeking wage history; relying on it to consider an applicant or set pay; requiring it to meet minimum or maximum criteria	After an initial offer, voluntarily provided history may support a higher offer. Applicants may ask for the wage range.
Vermont	21 V.S.A. 495m	Inquiring about or seeking current or past compensation from the applicant or an employer; requiring it to meet criteria; deciding whom to interview based on it	You may ask about salary expectations. Voluntarily disclosed history may be confirmed after an offer.
Virginia	Va. Code 40.1-28.7:12	Seeking wage or salary history; relying on it to consider an applicant or, with limited exceptions, to set pay; refusing to interview or hire, or retaliating, over it	Also requires the pay or pay range in every job posting. Attorney General penalties up to $1,000 for a first violation and $5,000 after that.
Washington	RCW 49.58.100	Seeking wage or salary history from the applicant or a current or former employer	You may confirm if the applicant volunteered it, or after an offer is negotiated and made.

Three points the table does not show. First, many of these laws sit inside a wider pay equity or pay transparency statute, so the same state may also require a pay range in job postings. Our pay transparency laws by state page covers that side. Second, cities and counties in several states have their own ordinances that can be stricter than the state law. Third, a few states restrict the question only for their own state agencies; those rules do not reach private employers and are not in this table.

A simple rule for a multi-state employer: do not ask any applicant what they earn now or earned before, anywhere. Ask what they are looking for instead.

What you can still ask and do

A salary history ban does not stop you talking about pay. Several laws say so directly.

Ask about expectations. Vermont’s law says nothing prevents “inquiring about a prospective employee’s salary expectations or requirements.” Hawaii, Illinois and Nevada say much the same. “What hourly rate are you looking for?” is the question to use.
Tell them the pay. Vermont and Hawaii expressly allow you to share the wages or range for the job. In some states you have to.
Accept what they volunteer. If an applicant brings up their current pay without prompting, many laws expressly allow that. What you may do with it varies: Maryland, Minnesota, Rhode Island and Virginia, for example, let you use it only to support a higher offer.
Check non-pay facts. Hawaii’s law expressly allows verifying non-salary information and running background checks, but if the check turns up salary history you may not rely on it to set pay. Tell your screening company not to report pay.
Ask about the compensation structure. Connecticut allows questions about other elements of an applicant’s current compensation structure, such as whether they get a bonus, as long as you do not ask the value.

Where the pay question hides in a hiring process

The question often is not an interviewer’s slip. It is a field on a form that nobody has looked at in years. Check each of these:

The online application. A “current salary” or “pay at last job” field, even if optional. Remove it, and remove the pay column from the work history section.
Screener questions in job ads. Lead forms on Facebook and Instagram, text-to-apply flows and chatbots often carry a “current pay?” question. Replace it with “desired hourly pay.”
Recruiters and staffing agencies. California and Maryland name agents, and Illinois’ guidance covers screening through recruiters. Put the rule in your agency agreements.
Reference checks. Several laws bar asking a current or former employer. Take pay off your reference check script.
Background and employment verification. Some verification products return salary. Turn that off.
Offer negotiation. “What would it take to get you to leave?” is fine. “What are they paying you now?” is not.

Questions about pay history are one of several that can get you in trouble in an interview; our illegal interview questions page covers the others, and ban-the-box laws by state covers criminal history questions, which follow a different map.

How to set starting pay without salary history

Salary history bans push employers toward what they should be doing anyway: pricing the job, not the person. For hourly frontline roles that usually means:

A written starting rate or band for each role and location, set from your pay scale, what current staff in the role earn, and the budget for the position. Virginia’s statute lists these same reference points for setting a pay range.
Written rules for going above the starting rate, tied to things you can verify, such as years of relevant experience, a license or certification, or shift.
The rate in the job ad, which answers the pay question before anyone asks it. Our salary negotiation page covers the conversation after an offer.

Putting the pay in the ad does double duty: it meets pay transparency rules in states that require it, and it tells applicants up front what the job pays. In Boostpoint’s 2026 benchmark of 891 managed Meta campaigns, the median campaign cost $13.88 per applicant. Cost per applicant is not cost per hire. A short application with no pay-history question is one less reason for an applicant to stop partway through.

Common mistakes

Making the salary field optional instead of removing it. An optional question is still a question.
Using one national application form built for states without a ban.
Assuming a law covers only employers headquartered in that state. Check how each law defines who it covers.
Asking former employers for pay during reference checks.
Using volunteered pay history to offer less. Where a law allows using it at all, it is usually only to justify more.
Forgetting internal postings and transfers. Virginia’s law covers promotions and transfers for pay transparency, and some other laws protect current employees too.

Frequently asked questions

What is a salary history ban?

A salary history ban is a law that stops employers from asking job applicants what they earn now or earned in the past, and usually from using that information to screen them or set their pay. Most allow applicants to volunteer it without prompting, and most let employers ask about pay expectations for the new job instead.

Which states have salary history bans?

Statewide laws covering private employers apply 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. Alabama bars refusing to hire an applicant who declines to share wage history. Some cities and counties have their own ordinances.

Is there a federal salary history ban?

No. There is no federal law that bans private employers from asking about salary history. The bans are state and local laws, so what you may ask depends on where the job is. A multi-state employer can simply remove the question everywhere rather than tracking which applicants are covered by which law.

Can I ask an applicant what pay they expect?

Generally yes, as long as you do not ask about past pay. Vermont's law expressly allows asking about salary expectations or requirements, and Hawaii, Illinois and Nevada say much the same. Ask what hourly rate or salary they are looking for, not what they earn now.

What if an applicant tells me their salary without being asked?

Many salary history laws expressly allow an applicant to disclose it voluntarily and without prompting. What you may do with it varies. Some states let you consider it or confirm it after an offer. Maryland, Minnesota, Rhode Island and Virginia, for example, let you use volunteered history only to support a higher offer.

When did Virginia's salary history ban take effect?

Virginia's law, Va. Code 40.1-28.7:12, took effect July 1, 2026. It bars seeking or relying on a prospective employee's wage or salary history, and it also requires the pay or pay range in every public and internal job posting. The Attorney General can seek up to $1,000 for a first violation and up to $5,000 after that.

Can I ask a former employer what they paid the applicant?

Not in many ban states. Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Oregon, Vermont, Washington and the District of Columbia, among others, bar seeking pay history from a current or former employer, subject to exceptions such as after an offer. Take pay out of your reference check script and your verification requests.

Do salary history bans apply to screener questions in job ads?

Yes. A pay history question in an online application, a Facebook or Instagram lead form, a chatbot or a text-to-apply flow is still asking the applicant. Several laws also cover asking through an agent, which can include recruiters. Replace current pay questions with a desired pay question and put your pay rate in the ad.

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Sources: state statutes and agency guidance linked in the table (Ala. Code 25-1-30; Cal. Labor Code 432.3; Colorado CDLE on C.R.S. 8-5-102; Conn. Gen. Stat. 31-40z; 19 Del. C. 709B; D.C. Code 32-1452; HRS 378-2.4; Illinois Department of Labor on 820 ILCS 112; 26 M.R.S. 628-A; Md. Labor & Empl. 3-304.2; M.G.L. c. 149, 105A; Minn. Stat. 363A.08; NRS 613.133; N.J. P.L. 2019, c. 199; N.Y. Labor Law 194-a; ORS 659A.357; R.I. Gen. Laws 28-6-22; 21 V.S.A. 495m; Va. Code 40.1-28.7:12; RCW 49.58.100); Boostpoint 2026 Social Job Advertising Benchmark. General information, not legal advice. Read at source 24 September 2026.