Overview: Maine has passed a new law prohibiting employers from inquiring about an applicant’s compensation history until after making an offer of employment.
Effective Date: September 17, 2019
Details:
Maine law prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex by paying wages to an employee at a rate less than the employer pays an employee of the opposite sex for comparable work on jobs that have comparable requirements. In an effort to promote wage equality, the legislature enacted a new law addressing compensation history.
The new law prohibits using or inquiring about a prospective employee'scompensation history from the prospective employee, or the prospective employee’s current or former employer, until after the employer has extended an offer of employment. The employment offer must include all terms of compensation before the employer may make compensation history inquiries.
However, if an employee or prospective employee has voluntarily disclosed compensation history information, without prompting by the employer, the employer may seek to confirm the information prior to an offer of employment. Further, the prohibition does not apply to an employer that makes inquiries pursuant to any federal or state law that specifically requires the disclosure or verification of compensation history for employment purposes.
Action Required: Employers should review and revise their job applications, policies, and procedures and train personnel about the ban.
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