Scenario 1
Inez fills out an application for a new job that asks for their employment history. It asks: name of past employers, years worked, main responsibilities, hourly wage, reason for leaving, and name of supervisor/manager.
Question: Is an employer allowed to ask an applicant their hourly wage or previous pay on an job application?
No, an employer cannot ask about past or current pay during any part of the hiring process.
Under the Minnesota Human Rights Act, an employer cannot ask, encourage, or prompt an applicant to disclose their pay history for the purpose of negotiating wages, salary, benefits, or other compensation.
Since this job application is used as part of a hiring process, which includes determining wages, employers must remove the part of the application that asks the applicant to disclose their pay history.
Employers should also review interview questions and remove any questions that ask what someone’s previous or current salary or wages.