Earlier this month, Massachusetts became the first state in the country to make it illegal for interviewers to ask job seekers how much money they currently make.
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Now, several members of Congress want to pass similar legislation nationwide. Proponents of such laws say that they’ll help close persistent pay gaps faced by women and minorities. That’s because when an employer knows that a potential employee is already earning below-market wages, it’s easier to continue to offer lower pay.
“Women and minorities often face discrimination in the job application process and in salary negotiations,” Congresswoman Eleanor Norton (D-DC) said in a statement announcing the proposed federal law. “Many carry lower salaries for their entire careers simply because of wages at previous jobs that were set unfairly. Our bill will require employers to offer salaries to prospective employees based on merit, not gender, race, or ethnicity.”
Norton, the first woman to chair the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission, said she plans to introduce the bill, along with Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) and Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), when Congress returns from recess.
Women still earn less than men, but the earnings gap gets considerably smaller when factoring in age, education and experience. In January, President Obama introduced new rules that would require every large company to report salary data based on race, gender and ethnicity. Some large companies have already started to do so.
