Delaware Joins Bandwagon Prohibiting Salary History Inquiries
June 19, 2017
Delaware is the latest state to prohibit employers from inquiring about the salary history of job applicants.
The new Delaware law makes it an unlawful employment practice for an employer or an employer’s agent to screen an applicant based upon her or his compensation history or to seek the compensation history of an applicant.An employer, however, is not liable for an agent’s actions in contravention of the law if it informs the agent of these statutory requirements.
An employer or an employer’s agent still may discuss and negotiate compensation provided that there is no request or requirement to provide the applicant’s compensation history. An employer or an employer’s agent may, however, seek compensation history after an offer of employment is made with the compensation terms extended and accepted “for the sole purpose of confirming the applicant’s compensation history.”
Violators are subject to penalties of not less than $1,000 nor more than $5,000 for the first offense and not less than $5,000 nor more than $10,000 for each subsequent offense.
The new law takes effect on December 1, 2017, leapfrogging similar laws in Massachusetts and Oregon set to take effect at later dates.
