NJ Law Bans Bosses From Asking Job Applicants About Past Salaries

MONTCLAIR, NJ — A newly signed state law in New Jersey will ban employers from asking job applicants how much money their previous bosses paid them.

Lieutenant Governor Sheila Oliver said the new legislation is an important step for workplace equality.

“I’m proud to sign this bill today for our women, children and families, which will institute this policy as state law, and put an end to this discriminatory workplace practice once and for all,” Oliver said, signing A1094 into law during a ceremony at the Montclair Public Library on Thursday.

The new law takes effect in six months.

According to a statement from the office of Gov. Phil Murphy, A1094 makes it unlawful for any employer to screen a job applicant based on their salary history, including past wages, commission, benefits or any other compensation.

The civil penalties for bosses who break the new law are steep: up to $1,000 for a first offense, $5,000 for a second violation and $10,000 for any subsequent violations.

However, employers will be allowed to take previous salary histories into consideration if a job applicant “voluntarily” offers the information, JD Supra reported.

New Jersey state government had already banned the practice for new hires under an executive order Murphy signed last year, NJ.com reported.

‘EQUITY AND FAIRNESS’

Previously, New Jersey employers were allowed to ask job applicants about their salary histories, “perpetuating the state’s wage gap,” the governor’s office stated.

Some of the law’s supporters said it stop employers from sandbagging new employees just because their previous jobs underpaid them.

“This is about equity and fairness,” Assemblyman Gary Schaer said. “Under the protections imposed by this bill, employers would have to make their salary decisions based on what an applicant’s worth is to the company, rather than on what he or she made in a previous position.”

Other supporters of the new law claimed it will help tackle a chronic injustice in the Garden State… a longstanding wage gap between minorities and genders.

“Studies have shown that women who hold full-time, year-round jobs in New Jersey are paid 82 cents for every dollar paid to men holding full-time, year-round jobs,” the governor’s office stated. “The wage gap between Latina women and white men in New Jersey is the largest in the nation.”

“Knowing how much [job applicants] were paid in the past is irrelevant and often times leads to a cycle of pay inequity,” Senator Loretta Weinberg said. “By eliminating inquiries of salary history, we can help curb wage discrimination based not only on gender, but also race, age and other characteristics.”

Some critics of the new law offered sharp rebukes on Oliver’s Twitter post. Seen online:

• “Another example of incompetent politicians trying to socialize our private sector.”
• “How?!? How does that change the EARNINGS gap? I swear y'all do things just to make a headline.”

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