Workforce Bulletin

Columbus has joined Toledo, Cincinnati, and a number of states and locales around the country, in banning employers from asking job applicants about their salary history.

Effective March 1, 2024, covered employers in Ohio’s capital will be prohibited from:

• inquiring about an applicant’s salary history,
• screening applicants based on their salary history,
• relying solely on salary history when deciding whether to offer an applicant employment or determining their compensation, and
• retaliating against applicants for not disclosing their salary history.

Salary History

Currently, neither the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) nor the Equal Pay Act (EPA) prohibit employers from screening applicants based on prior salary, requesting an applicant’s salary history, or conditioning an applicant’s employment on providing their salary history. However, salary history bans, which are intended to eliminate the perpetuation of discriminatory pay disparities, have become increasingly common both at the state and local level. As of April 2023, more than 40 states and localities have adopted some form a salary history ban.

This Employment Law This Week^® Monthly Rundown discusses the most important developments for employers in August 2019.

This episode includes:

• Increased Employee Protections for Cannabis Users
• First Opinion Letters Released Under New Wage and Hour Leadership
• New Jersey and Illinois Enact Salary History Inquiry Bans
• Deadline for New York State Anti-Harassment Training Approaches
• Tip of the Week

See below to watch the full episode – click here for story details and video.

We invite you to view Employment Law This Week^® – tracking the latest developments that could ...

As we wrote last month, the state of Washington passed legislation barring most inquiries into salary history by employers, as well as requiring employers to divulge salary bands for posted jobs.  On May 9, 2019, the governor of Washington, Jay Inslee, signed the bill, confirming the law statewide.  The law will take effect on July 28, 2019, and prior to that date, Washington employers should plan to amend any employment applications and hiring practices to conform to the new law.

In an attempt to reduce the gender wage gap, the Washington State Legislature passed HB 1696,(“the Bill”), legislation that will prevent all private employers in Washington State from inquiring into the salary history of prospective employees  or requiring that an applicant's prior wage or salary history meet certain criteria.  Additionally, the Bill mandates that, upon an applicant’s request, an employer with 15 or more employees must provide the applicant with certain details about the pay rate or salary range for the open position.

If, as expected, the measure is signed ...

Featured on Employment Law This Week: NYC Employers Required to Grant Temporary Schedule Changes .

New York City employers are now required to accommodate some employee schedule changes - As of July 18th, employees in New York City can request temporary schedule changes, or permission to take unpaid time off for personal events like a caregiving emergency. Employers are required to grant up to two changes per year for up to one business day per request. Employees must be on the job for a minimum of 120 days to be eligible. A new poster has also been issued by the City.

Watch this ...

This week’s top story on Employment Law This Week: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) plans to roll back a controversial reporting rule initiated at the end of the Obama administration.

OSHA has proposed rescinding parts of a 2017 rule that requires companies with 250 or more employees to submit detailed reports on workplace injuries. OSHA says this move would protect employee privacy and reduce the burden for employers. Three organizations have filed suit over the proposed changes, saying that the data from the detailed reports helps improve ...