On January 23, 2017, Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney signed Bill 160840 amending Title 9 of The Philadelphia Code. The new law prohibits employers from inquiring about wage history during the hiring process, unless required by state, federal, or local law for employment purposes. Wages is defined as “all earnings of an employee, regardless of whether determined on time, task, piece, commission or other method of calculation and including fringe benefits, wage supplements, or other compensation whether payable by the employer from employer funds or from amounts withheld from the employee’s pay by the employer.” The aim of the new law is to shift basing wages from a prior job, to basing it upon job responsibilities of the position sought. Under the law, employers are allowed to ask prospective employees what their salary and benefit expectations are. Prospective employees may knowingly and willingly disclose their wage history.
Employers cannot retaliate against a prospective employee for failing to disclose his or her wage history. The law is scheduled to take effect May 23, 2017. We expect a Philadelphia Fair Practices Poster to be release soon. Make sure to visit our website for new updates!