San Francisco Employers May No Longer Ask About or Consider Salary History

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors today approved a new ordinance that prohibits employers from asking candidates about their salary history.  The new ordinance, if signed by San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee as expected, will go into effect on July 1, 2018.  Referred to as the “Parity in Pay Ordinance,” the new San Francisco law also prohibits employers from considering current or past salary of an applicant in determining whether to hire an applicant or what salary to offer the applicant.

The new San Francisco ordinance would apply to any applicant whose work that is expected or intended to be performed in San Francisco, regardless of the employer’s actual location.

If the new law is signed by the Mayor as expected, San Francisco will join 9 other states and municipalities (including New York, Oregon, Delaware, Philadelphia, Massachusetts, and Puerto Rico) that ban employers from asking about or considering salary history.

Penalties for violating San Francisco’s new law begin on January 1, 2019.

You can read the full text of the new law here.

UPDATE:  San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee signed this new ordinance (SF ordinance #170350) into law on July 19, 2017.