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Cincinnati Salary History Ban

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Cincinnati Adopts Salary History Ban with Ordinance 83.

You will no longer be able to ask a candidate during an interview what compensation they received at prior jobs. 

Ordinance 83, passed on March 13, 2019 takes effect in 365 days... March 13, 2020.  The ordinance was passed to address gender/minority pay disparity in which the ordinance claims that women and minorities are routinely paid less than their white male counterparts, and that wages offered by the employer should be based on the experience of the applicant and responsibilities of the job rather than wages earned from prior employment.

Cincinnati follows a similar law that took effect in California banning conversations about prior salary.  You should expect that similar laws will continue to be passed around the country.

Cincinnati's new law considers the following lines of questioning discriminatory:

  • Inquiring about the salary history of an applicant.
  • Screening job applicants based on their current or prior wages, benefits, other compensation, or salary histories.
  • Relying on salary history of an applicant in deciding whether to offer employment to an applicant of in determining the salary, benefits, or other compensation for the applicant.
  • Refuse to hire or otherwise disfavor, injure, or retaliate against an applicant for refusing to disclose salary history.

So what can an employer ask?

  • You can ask, without inquiring about salary history, what the applicants expectations are with respect to salary, benefits, and other compensation.
  • An employer, upon reasonable request, shall provide the scale for a position to an applicant, for which the applicant has been provided a conditional offer of employment.

There are enumerated exceptions to the list.

What happens if you don't comply?  The candidate has up to 2 years to file a private cause of action to enforce this ordinance for compensatory damages, reasonable attorney fees, the costs of the action, and such legal and equitable relief as the court deems just and proper.

#SDS #EqualPay #SalaryHistoryBan