Salary question is being ditched - Your Daily Distraction

Your next interview may be one question shorter as cities, states and territories around the U.S. stop asking, “How much did you make in your last job?” The question is being banned in an effort to eliminate gender wage disparities, reports Business Insider. California, Oregon, Delaware, Massachusetts, New York City, Philadelphia and Puerto Rico outlawed employers from inquiring about a candidate’s salary history, Business Insider said. New Orleans and Pittsburgh put in place similar bans for hiring city workers. An embargo in Maryland is in the works, but not in Illinois, where Governor Bruce Rauner vetoed the proposal. Michigan and Wisconsin have also prohibited salary history question bans, Bloomberg said.

What’s your take on banning salary history questions?

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You’ve finally decided to take the leap and apply for that job that you reallywant. You made it through the interview stage, and so far you and the hiring manager are hitting it off. They seem interested in hiring you, but then the dreaded question comes: “How much are you making in your current position?”

What do you do now? You need to give some kind of answer. Trying to dodge the question could seem awkward, but sharing your actual salary truthfully might decrease your earning potential, especially if you’re currently making below the market rate for your position. Because of this predicament–in particular because it more often disadvantages women and people of color–some states and municipalities have recently bannedemployers from asking about salary history altogether.

But even those laws (which remain few and far between) may not stop an ignorant or unscrupulous hiring manager from pressing you on your earning history. Here are a few scripts you can use no matter what stage of the hiring process you might be posed that question.