Prospective employees; prohibiting employer seeking wage or salary history.
SB1132 creates a statewide ban on employers asking prospective employees about their wage or salary history and bars employers from relying on that history when making hiring or pay decisions, except in limited circumstances when the applicant voluntarily discloses it. The bill also requires employers to disclose the wage or salary, or a good-faith wage or salary range, in public and internal job postings for jobs, promotions, transfers, and other employment opportunities. In addition, it prohibits retaliation against applicants or employees who decline to provide salary history or who request pay-range information.
The bill defines “wage or salary history” and “wage or salary range,” and it requires the range to be set in good faith using a pay scale, prior range, comparable positions, or budgeted amount. If an applicant voluntarily provides salary history without prompting, an employer may use that information only to support a higher offer so long as it does not create an unlawful pay differential under Virginia or federal law. The bill also creates a private right of action, allowing affected applicants or employees to sue within two years and recover statutory damages, actual damages, attorney fees, costs, and other relief.
SB1132 adds a new section to Title 40.1 of the Code of Virginia governing employer hiring and pay practices. It expands state employment law by imposing salary-history inquiry restrictions, pay transparency requirements for job postings, and civil liability for violations. Employers in Virginia will need to revise application forms, interview practices, compensation-setting procedures, and posting templates to comply, while prospective and current employees gain enforceable rights to challenge noncompliant practices.
The bill appears to have had mixed but ultimately favorable support, passing both chambers despite close votes in the House and committee stages. The Senate passed it 21-18, and the House passed it 49-47 with one abstention, indicating substantial partisan or policy division. The committee votes were also narrow, suggesting the measure was supported by a coalition that viewed it as a pay equity and transparency reform, but opposed by members concerned about employer burdens or limits on compensation practices.
The main points of contention are likely the bill’s restrictions on employer discretion in hiring and compensation, especially the prohibition on asking about salary history and the mandate to disclose pay ranges in postings. Opponents may view these requirements as administratively burdensome, potentially inflexible for employers, or as exposing businesses to litigation through the new private right of action and damages provisions. Supporters likely argue that the bill promotes pay equity, reduces the perpetuation of past wage discrimination, and gives applicants more information and leverage in the hiring process.