The intuition behind salary history bans is straightforward: when employers anchor new salary offers to a candidate’s prior compensation, any historical pay gap follows the candidate forward. A woman or minority candidate who was underpaid in a previous role then receives a below-market new offer, perpetuating the original disparity. Removing salary history from the negotiation forces employers to anchor offers to the role and the candidate’s skills rather than the candidate’s prior pay.
As of 2025, salary history bans are in effect in approximately 22 US states and 24 cities/counties, plus several countries outside the US. The exact restrictions vary: some prohibit any question about salary history; some allow the candidate to volunteer the information; some prohibit using salary history in the offer decision even if disclosed; some require employers to publish salary ranges to compensate for the loss of salary-history anchoring. Compliance requires recruiting teams to remove the question from application forms, intake calls, and interview guides, and to document offer decisions on grounds independent of historical pay.
Key Points: Salary History Ban
- Legal restriction in 22+ US states: Plus 24+ cities and several countries; the exact list and details vary.
- Prevents perpetuation of pay gaps: Stops historical underpayment from being baked into new offers via anchoring.
- Different scope across jurisdictions: Some prohibit asking; some prohibit using; some allow voluntary disclosure.
- Often paired with pay transparency: Many salary history ban jurisdictions also require publishing salary ranges in job postings.
- Recruiting process redesign required: Application forms, intake scripts, interview guides, and offer decision documentation all need updates.
How Salary History Ban Works in Treegarden
Salary History Ban in Treegarden
Treegarden’s application form builder and intake call templates can be configured to remove salary history fields and questions in jurisdictions where they are prohibited, with location-aware enforcement so a single global posting can comply with the most restrictive applicable jurisdiction. Offer decision documentation captures the basis for the offer amount independent of any prior compensation data.
Related HR Glossary Terms
Frequently Asked Questions About Salary History Ban
Approximately 22 US states have statewide salary history bans, including California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington. Many additional cities and counties have local bans, including New York City, Philadelphia, Chicago, San Francisco, and Atlanta. Outside the US, several jurisdictions have similar restrictions or are considering them. Always check current law for the specific jurisdiction of the role and the candidate.
In most ban jurisdictions, yes - the prohibition is on the employer asking, not on the candidate volunteering. However, some jurisdictions prohibit using volunteered salary history in the offer decision even when disclosed. Best-practice recruiting teams treat volunteered salary history as out of scope for the offer process even where the law permits its use, both for legal-risk reduction and for consistent equity protection.
Asking about salary expectations is generally permitted in salary-history-ban jurisdictions. The distinction is asking about future expectations (what the candidate wants for this role) versus historical compensation (what the candidate was paid previously). Salary expectations questions are useful for calibrating early in the process whether the role budget is in range. They should be asked once, by the recruiter, with the role’s salary range disclosed in return where required by local law.
The same way mature compensation programs always made offers: anchor to the role’s defined salary band based on level, function, and location; calibrate within the band based on the candidate’s skills, experience, and assessed performance; reference external market data on competitive offers for similar candidates. Salary history bans have accelerated the maturity of compensation discipline at many companies that previously relied on history-anchored offers.