Vermont Joins Salary History Inquiry Ban Trend

Author: David B. Weisenfeld, XpertHR Legal Editor

May 14, 2018

Vermont has become the latest state to enact a salary history question ban as Governor Phil Scott signed a law on Friday to prohibit employers from asking such questions. The measure aims to reduce the wage gap between men and women for performing the same or similar work.

Effective July 1, 2018, employers in the Green Mountain state may not:

  • Screen prospective employees based on their wages or salary history;
  • Require that an applicant's salary history satisfy minimum or maximum criteria;
  • Require that applicants disclose their wages or salary history as a condition of being interviewed; or
  • Seek the salary history of a prospective employee from a current or former employer.

If a prospective employee voluntarily discloses information about his or her current or past compensation, a Vermont employer may - after making an employment offer with compensation - seek to confirm, or request that the prospective employee confirm, his or her salary history.

Nothing in the Vermont law prevents an employer from asking prospective employees about their salary expectations or requirements.

Vermont becomes the fifth state to enact a salary history question prohibition, joining:

At least two other states, Connecticut and Hawaii, are expected to have similar salary history laws very soon. Both have bills that have passed their respective state legislatures and await only the governor's signature.

Meanwhile, New York City and San Francisco are among the cities to have enacted salary history question prohibitions. Philadelphia was the first city in the nation to pass such a law, but its measure has been embroiled in a long-running legal challenge.