Community Corner
LA Looks to Ban Employers from Asking About Salary History
In an effort to close the gendered wage gap, LA is exploring the feasibility of banning companies from asking about salary history.
LOS ANGELES, CA -- Los Angeles city attorneys were asked Friday to study whether it would be possible to bar local employers from asking about salary history from job seekers, a restriction that a councilwoman said is intended to help close the gender wage gap.
The City Council approved a motion directing the City Attorney's Office to report back on the "feasibility" of preventing employers in Los Angeles, and those who do business within the city, from asking job seekers for information about their salary history.
Councilwoman Nury Martinez said her motion is aimed at helping women's salaries catch up with those of men.
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"A woman with the same work experience as a man but with a lower salary history should not be penalized as she advances throughout her career," Martinez said.
The motion also directs the Personnel Department to look into removing any questions about salary history from the city's own job applications, and provide an estimate for the cost of doing so.
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The proposed policy would go further than AB 1676, a bill recently signed by Gov. Jerry Brown that initially called for the same ban, but was later scaled back to say that employers cannot use prior salary information alone to justify gaps in pay between men and women.
A San Fernando Valley-based business chamber official asked the City Council Friday to study the proposed city policy carefully and urged that sufficient time be given to businesses to vet it once it is taken up again in committee.
"Business owners agree that overt salary (disparities) based solely on gender have no place in Los Angeles. However, given the breadth and scope of this motion, we ask that the council give due time for effective stakeholders to fully review the motion," said Alex Davis, a legislative affairs manager for the Valley Industry and Commerce Association.
"We ask that the reports from the city attorney fully analyze the fiscal effect of the proposal and to consider other alternatives that may be more effective and less burdensome for businesses," he said.
City News Service; Photo: Tim Gouw via Pexels
