As a reminder, Connecticut Public Act No. 18-8 titled “An Act Concerning Pay Equity” became effective January 1, 2019. Under this law, all employers are prohibited from asking or directing a third party to ask about a job applicant’s wage and salary, unless the job applicant has voluntarily disclosed this information.
Exceptions
There are two exceptions to the new law. It does not apply to employers or third parties who are required to ask about wage or salary history by federal or state law. The law does not prohibit employers from asking about other elements of an applicant’s compensation structure (e.g., whether the applicant received stock options.) However, an employer may not ask about the value of the other elements of the applicant’s compensation structure (e.g., the value of the stock options.)
Takeaways
Employers should immediately:
- advise their Human Resources Department and other employers with interview responsibilities not to ask applicants about their wage and salary history, and
- review their employment application(s) and remove any questions about past wages or salary.