NPR

More Employers Avoid Legal Minefield By Not Asking About Pay History

States and cities are banning questions about prior pay in the hopes of narrowing gender and racial pay gaps. More employers are finding ways around the legal patchwork by eliminating the question.
Asking questions about prior salary can be used by employers to discriminate against women and minorities who earn less, critics say.

How much did you make in your previous job?

This dreaded interview question can sound like a trap. Your answer could be used to set your salary below someone else who is doing the same job.

And, critics say, the question can be used by employers to discriminate against women and minorities who earn less.

Employers are allowed to ask

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from NPR

NPR5 min readIndustries
China Makes Cheap Electric Vehicles. Why Can't American Shoppers Buy Them?
American drivers want cheap EVs. Chinese automakers are building them. But you can't buy them in the U.S., thanks to tariffs in the name of U.S. jobs and national security. Two car shoppers weigh in.
NPR2 min read
After A Serious Car Accident, A Man Pulled Over — And Continued To Help For Days
In 1997, Apryle Oswald got in a car accident. The man who responded went on to help for three more days — driving her dog to the vet and Oswald's boyfriend back and forth to the hospital.
NPR2 min readInternational Relations
Israeli Forces Take Control Of The Gaza Side Of The Rafah Crossing With Egypt
An Israeli tank brigade seized control Tuesday of the Gaza Strip side of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, authorities said, as cease-fire negotiations with Hamas remain on a knife's edge.

Related Books & Audiobooks