Holy Toledo! Salary History Ban Moves into Toledo, Ohio

Protecting job candidates means more laws take their corner on privacy rights. More locations are restricting information about employment experience, including salary history.

As of June 25, 2020, Toledo became the second city in Ohio to adopt a salary history ban.

They join Cincinnati that passed a ban [last year].  The new law means employers generally can’t ask job candidates about compensation during the hiring process.

If you are an employer located in Toledo, the new law may apply to you. It’s not just about where you are located. It’s about where your employees live and work. You may find this law may have implications for your business. For example, if you have over 15 paid employees in Toledo, you may need to pay attention to this new ban.

What the salary history ban says

Generally, the salary history ban restricts requests for compensation details from job candidates. The full text of the law offers complete details on rules and exceptions. Here are some highlights from Toledo’s salary history ban:

• In general, employers cannot:
  • Ask a job candidate about their salary history.
  • Screen job candidate based on their current or prior wages, benefits, or other compensation.
  • Use a job candidate’s salary history to define job offers (salary, benefits, or other compensation) or negotiate job contracts.
  • Refuse to hire or discriminate against a job candidate for not disclosing their salary history.
• Employers shall disclose the pay scale for a position to a job candidate, at the job candidate’s request, when they present a conditional job offer.
• This law doesn’t mean employers can’t engage in discussions about job candidate’s pay expectations. After all, salary, benefits, and other compensation are normal parts of job offer negotiations. Employers just can’t ask about salary history.

What to do next

Laws like salary history bans are a serious matter. If you are not sure how or if this law applies to you, your legal counsel may provide the best advice. Not complying could be an unlawful discriminatory practice. There are risks of high costs if you fail to comply. Under the ban, job candidates have a private cause of action to seek compensation for violations.