Don't Look Back: California Restricts Use of Salary Histories
In August, we alerted you to several measures around the country that may indicate a trend towards restricting employers from seeking or relying upon applicants’ wage histories, including then-pending California Assembly Bill (“AB”) 1676. Recently, Governor Brown signed AB 1676 into law. Fortunately, unlike earlier drafts of AB 1676 and the Massachusetts statute discussed in our August Alert, the new California law does not prohibit employers from seeking wage history; rather, the new law, which can be read in full here, will amend California’s Fair Pay Act (“CFPA”) to preclude employers from relying on an applicant’s salary history as the sole justification for a wage disparity, stating that “prior salary shall not, by itself justify any disparity in compensation.”