An Act To Prohibit an Employer from Asking a Prospective Hire about the Person's Compensation History until after a Job Offer Is Made

Sec. 1. 26 MRSA §626-A, first ¶,  as amended by PL 1999, c. 465, §5, is further amended to read:

Whoever violates any of the provisions of sections 621-A to 623 or section 626, 628, 628-A, 629 or 629-B is subject to a forfeiture of not less than $100 nor more than $500 for each violation.

Sec. 2. 26 MRSA §628-A  is enacted to read:

§ 628-A.  Job applicant compensation questions

An employer may not inquire about the compensation history of a prospective employee from the prospective employee or a current or former employer of the prospective employee or require that a prospective employee's compensation history meet certain criteria, unless an offer of employment that includes all terms of compensation has been negotiated and made to the prospective employee, after which the employer may inquire about or confirm the prospective employee's compensation history.

This section may be enforced pursuant to section 626-A. The civil action provided pursuant to section 626-A may be brought to enforce this section by or on behalf of one or more applicants for employment or by the Department of Labor on behalf of one or more applicants for employment, and the plaintiff or plaintiffs may also seek judgment for compensatory damages.

summary

This bill prohibits an employer from inquiring about a prospective employee's compensation history until after an offer of employment that includes all terms of compensation has been negotiated and made to the prospective employee. The bill also prohibits an employer from requiring that a prospective employee's compensation history meet certain criteria. An employer that violates this provision is subject to a fine of not less than $100 and not more than $500 per violation and is also subject to a civil action that may be brought by or on behalf of an affected prospective employee by the Department of Labor or the affected employee.