Alabama Restricts Salary History Information
Effective September 1, 2019: Alabama employers are prohibited from refusing to interview, hire, promote, or employ any applicant, or retaliate against any applicant, because that applicant does not provide a wage history. Hire Image background screening specialists report that it’s important to note that, unlike other states, Alabama’s new law does not bar employers from inquiring about salary history, but rather, prohibits retaliation against applicants who refuse to provide such information. This restriction is part of an equity pay law that prohibits employers from paying less for the same work on the basis of gender or race. Differences in pay for the same work are permitted; however, when based on: (1) seniority, (2) a merit system, (3) a system that measures earnings by the quantity or quality of production, or (4) a differential that is “based on any factor other than sex or race.” For more information about the growing trend of salary h...