Ohio - Columbus, Ohio Prohibits Salary History Inquiries

The City of Columbus, Ohio, has enacted an ordinance to prohibit certain employers from inquiring about an applicant’s pay history. The ordinance takes effect on March 1, 2024.

The details

Under the ordinance, employers that operate in Columbus, Ohio are prohibited from asking about an applicant’s wage or salary history.

Applicant: A person who applies for employment in the geographic bounds of the City of Columbus, whose application (in whole or in part) will be solicited, received, processed, or considered in Columbus.

Covered employer: An employer that is located in and has at least 15 employees in Columbus. This includes job placement, referral agencies and other employment agencies operating on behalf of an entity.

Employer requirements

The ordinance makes it an unlawful discriminatory practice for a covered employer to:

• Ask about an applicant’s salary history (current or previous wages, benefits, or other compensation). Salary history does not include objective measures of an applicant’s productivity, such as revenue, sales, or other production reports.
• Screen an applicant based on the applicant’s salary history.
• Rely solely on an applicant’s salary history in:

• Retaliate against an applicant for not disclosing their salary history to an employer by refusing to hire, disfavoring, or causing injury to the applicant.

Note: Employers may still discuss salary, benefits, and other compensation expectations with applicants.

Exceptions

The ordinance does not apply to:

• Requirements under federal, state, or local laws that specifically authorize an employer to rely on salary history to determine employee compensation.
• An applicant’s voluntary and unprompted disclosure of their salary history information.
• An applicant’s internal transfer or promotion opportunities with their current employer.
• Applicants that are re-hired by the employer within three years of the applicant’s most recent date of termination of employment by the employer if the employer already has internal past salary history data for the applicant.
• Positions where the salary, benefits or other compensation are determined by procedures established by collective bargaining; or
• An employer’s attempt to verify an applicant’s disclosure of non-salary-related information or conduct a background check.

Note: If the verification or background check discloses the applicant’s salary history, the disclosure must not be solely relied on in determining the salary, benefits, or other compensation of the applicant during the hiring process. This includes contract negotiation.

Penalties

Employers that are found to have violated the ordinance may face fines of up to $5,000, depending on the number of offenses.

Next steps

Train supervisors and HR personnel on the requirements under the ordinance.

Thank you,

ADP