A recently introduced bill in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, seeks to prohibit employers in the state from requesting salary histories from job applicants. While this bill is yet to become law, salary history requirements have been legal in America and commonly featured in job applications until the past few years, when some states and cities started to impose restrictions. This change is because salary history requirements perpetuate gender-based pay inequality. Senator Judy Schwank (D-Reading), who sponsored the legislation, believes the proposal would eliminate this disparity and ensure that women and men are paid equally for the same job. Schwank's interest in gender pay inequality stems from her early career experience when she and her female colleagues identified and successfully tackled a pay gap between themselves and their male colleagues. Despite the bill lacking any Republican co-sponsors in the GOP-controlled Senate, Lt. Gov. Austin Davis (D) and others remain hopeful about its impact. However, the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry has vehemently opposed the bill, citing employers' reliance on market data and other economic information to stay competitive and make employment decisions.
Schwank's bill would allow job applicants to disclose their salary history voluntarily to negotiate for higher pay. However, it would prohibit employers from banning employees from discussing their wages. HR Dive reports that almost half of the US states have some form of limitation on employers asking for salary history information from job candidates. However, some apply only to government agencies or specific-sized companies. In contrast, two states, Michigan and Wisconsin, even prohibit municipalities within their jurisdiction from imposing such restrictions. In most cases, such conditions are up to localities, and both Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania's two largest cities, have already implemented their rules.
