Effective January 1, 2018, California Assembly Bill 168 (AB 168) prohibits asking job applicants about their salary history (including other forms of compensation and benefits), or otherwise seeking this information.  Further, employers may not rely on salary history as a factor in determining whether to offer employment to an applicant, or the salary the employer will offer an applicant.  Although the law permits employers to consider salary history if an applicant voluntarily and without prompting discloses this information, employers should proceed cautiously based on a recent state law that provides that prior salary alone cannot justify a disparity in salary.

The new law also requires employers to provide the pay scale for a position upon an applicant’s request.