Salary History Question Prohibition Act
- Bill Number
- H.R. 2219
- Origin Chamber
- House
- Congress
- 119th Congress, Session 1
- Policy Area
- Labor and Employment
- Status
- Introduced
- Latest Action
- 2025-03-18: Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.
- Last Updated
- 2026-07-01T08:08:49Z
AI-Generated Summary
Purpose of the Legislation
The "Salary History Question Prohibition Act" (H.R. 2219) aims to promote fair hiring practices by preventing employers from using a job applicant's past salary or benefits information—known as "wage history"—to determine their eligibility or pay in new roles. This is intended to reduce pay disparities, such as those based on gender or race, by focusing hiring decisions on the value of the job rather than past earnings.
Key Provisions
- Prohibitions on Using Wage History:
- Employers cannot rely on a prospective employee's past wages when deciding whether to hire them, including setting minimum or maximum pay thresholds based on prior salary.
- Employers cannot use past wages to set the salary for a new hire, unless the applicant voluntarily provides this information after receiving a job offer with a proposed salary, and only to negotiate a higher amount.
- Employers cannot ask the applicant or their current/former employers for wage history information, except to verify details after a job offer is made and the applicant uses it to request higher pay.
- Anti-Retaliation Protections:
- Employers cannot fire, demote, or otherwise punish employees or applicants for opposing these prohibited practices or for exercising related rights under existing labor laws.
- Definition:
- "Wage history" refers to the actual wages paid by a current or previous employer.
- Enforcement and Penalties (added to the Fair Labor Standards Act's penalty section):
- Civil fines start at $5,000 for a first violation, increasing by $1,000 per repeat offense, up to a $10,000 maximum.
- Affected employees or applicants can sue for up to $10,000 in damages, plus attorney's fees, and seek court orders (injunctive relief) to stop violations.
- Lawsuits can be filed in federal or state courts, including class actions on behalf of similarly situated individuals, against any employer (including government agencies).
Significant Changes to Existing Law
- This bill amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA), a key federal law governing minimum wage, overtime, and labor standards, by adding a new Section 8 specifically addressing wage history in hiring.
- It expands the FLSA's Section 16 (penalties) to include these new violations, introducing targeted fines and private lawsuit rights that did not previously exist for salary history inquiries.
- Unlike some state laws on this topic, this federal measure would standardize prohibitions nationwide, overriding or aligning with varying state rules where they exist.
Potential Impacts
- On Citizens: Job seekers, especially women and minorities who may have faced historical pay gaps, could benefit from more equitable salary offers based on job requirements rather than past earnings, potentially narrowing wage disparities over time.
- On Government Agencies: As employers, federal, state, and local agencies must comply, which could require updates to hiring policies and training for HR staff, increasing administrative costs but promoting fairness in public sector jobs.
- On Employers: Businesses of all sizes face new compliance burdens, such as revising job applications and interview processes to avoid asking about salary history, with risks of fines or lawsuits for non-compliance.
- On International Relations: No direct impacts, as this is a domestic labor law focused on U.S. employment practices.
Main Stakeholders Affected
- Employers: All private companies and public agencies involved in hiring, who must adjust recruitment and compensation strategies.
- Employees and Prospective Employees: Current and future workers protected from discriminatory pay practices and retaliation.
- Human Resources Professionals and Legal Teams: Responsible for implementing changes and handling potential enforcement actions.
- Labor Advocacy Groups: Likely to support and monitor enforcement to ensure broader pay equity.
Notable Legal, Constitutional, or Political Implications
- Legal: Strengthens FLSA protections against hiring discrimination by creating a new basis for lawsuits, potentially increasing litigation as individuals gain easier access to courts without needing government intervention. It aligns with equal pay principles under laws like the Equal Pay Act but focuses specifically on salary history as a barrier.
- Constitutional: No direct challenges anticipated, as it regulates private employment conduct under Congress's commerce clause authority (which supports federal labor laws). However, it could face scrutiny if seen as overly burdensome on small businesses' free speech or contractual rights in negotiations.
- Political: As a federal expansion of pay transparency efforts (building on state-level bans in places like California and New York), it may spark debates on government overreach in private hiring versus the need for equity, influencing future labor reforms or partisan divides in workforce committees.
This summary was generated by AI and may contain inaccuracies. Refer to the official source document for the authoritative text.
Sponsor
Del. Norton, Eleanor Holmes [D-DC-At Large]
Cosponsors (2)
Rep. Tlaib, Rashida [D-MI-12], Rep. Ross, Deborah K. [D-NC-2]
Recent Actions
- 2025-03-18: Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.
- 2025-03-18: Introduced in House
- 2025-03-18: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR E225)
- 2025-03-18: Introduced in House
Bill Versions
- Salary History Question Prohibition Act — issued 2025-03-18 — PDF (4 pages)