1 min read | Chime in and take the poll on LinkedIn here
2 years ago, Illinois passed a No Salary History Law. It was big news for a minute. I’m a fan.
Then the pandemic hit. It fell off everyone’s radar.
Today I got to wondering: did it really make a difference? Are job seekers having an easier time in their negotiation? And are things more equitable?
Or has there been no noticeable impact?
I’ll hit rewind and get you caught up:
Asking salary history was 1 of the 6 main factors companies used to determine offers. (Others being: desired salary, internal comp bands, interview assessment, market data, and competitive pressure).
The practice was garbage for two reasons:
People were penalized when their current company is cheap or their boss is asshole.
It further reinforces the wage gap & biases.
I made fun of recruiters who freaked out because they thought their job would be impossible. (They just weren’t very good at their job.) Not relevant to the discussion but I wanted one last dunk....
There are currently 21 states with statewide No Salary History bans. (Here.)
So did it work? Or was it a bit of a non-event?
Some evidence that it did:
Boston University’s School of Law says “workers who changed jobs saw their pay increase by 5 percent more than comparable workers who changed jobs in the absence of a ban.” Here.
Harvard Business Review says it “generated substantial pay increases for Black (+13%) and female (+8%) candidates who took new jobs”. Here.
It would appear so. But I’m curious what the perception is among job seekers is. Poll below.
You can follow me on LinkedIn here. Join the discussion on this LinkedIn post (or give it a 👍) here.