Effective September 1, 2020: Philadelphia employers are prohibited from inquiring about a prospective employee’s wage history, conditioning employment or consideration for an interview on disclosure of wage history, retaliating against a prospective employee for failing to comply with any wage history inquiry, or relying on the wage history of a prospective employee in determining their wages, unless the applicant “knowingly and willingly” disclosed their salary history to the employer.

This has been a long time coming, as this salary history legislation was originally passed in 2017. As we previously posted, the legislation was challenged on First Amendment grounds and later enjoined. In February of this year, a federal court reversed the lower court’s decision. Now, after three years of challenges and injunctions, Philadelphia’s salary history ban will become effective on September 1st.

If they haven’t already, Philadelphia employers should revise their hiring practices, including their job applications, to ensure they are not inquiring about an applicant’s salary history.

For more information, click here for the regulations and FAQs the Chamber of Commerce and the City of Philadelphia drafted.

Original ordinance, as passed in 2017.

For more information on Salary History bans and other laws, and whether they affect your state, visit our resource guide at the Hire Image Resource Library.