A trio of House Democrats plans to introduce a bill that would ban employers from asking job applicants for their salary history, a move they say would help close the so-called gender pay gap.
The legislation is sponsored by Reps. Jerrold Nadler of New York, Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut and Eleanor Holmes Norton, who is D.C’s non-voting delegate.
The bill would mirror a new law in Massachusetts that prohibits employers from requesting salary history, which critics say keeps women and minorities stuck at lower wage levels.
“Many carry lower salaries for their entire careers simply because of wages at previous jobs that were set unfairly,” Norton said Tuesday. “Our bill will require employers to offer salaries to prospective employees based on merit, not gender, race or ethnicity.”
Nadler said the legislation would help end the wage gap between men and women and between whites and minorities.
“Ultimately, the only way to make sure women and minorities will be treated equally is to remove the early biases that exist, both in hiring practices and salary negotiations, and our bill works to eliminate those obstacles by requiring employers to offer salaries based on the value of the work,” Nadler said.
It’s not likely the legislation will move in Congress.
Republicans have blocked efforts by Democrats to legislate worker pay rules, such as those proposed in the Paycheck Fairness Act, a Democratic bill that would make it easier for employees to sue over alleged pay discrimination by eliminating caps on punitive damages.
Republicans have repeatedly voted against the bill, arguing that the proposal would hurt businesses and decrease jobs and that it inaccurately portrays the reasons behind the gender pay gap.
