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New law bans California employers from asking applicants their prior salary

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Re: New law bans California employers from asking applicants their prior salary

#361

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How would the robbers know he lives below his means? All they see is that he's making 2x his neighbors.

And that money could be going to an ex-spouse, paying down debt, etc. It's not like we're making the contents of OPs bank account public.

Do you think would-be robbers will give me the benefit of the doubt? I'd prefer to not trust them.

Re: New law bans California employers from asking applicants their prior salary

#362
post #294

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How about kidnapping your loved ones for ransom?

ah yes, the booming American kidnapping business. /s Seriously though, it's not hard to find targets for this sort of thing by looking at census data and sales records for nice homes, yet it really never happens in the US. WHen was the last time you heard of some random lawyer, ceo, or banker getting kidnapped in the US?

How about service providers like car repairmen and house contractors ripping people off? How about gold-diggers pursuing people on false romantic pretenses? How about just people gossiping about you out of envy?

Re: New law bans California employers from asking applicants their prior salary

#363

I've never once answered such a question and never understood why anyone would. When they ask, you tell them you don't give out that information. I've never even had someone question that or ask twice.

I'm pretty sure companies have ruled me out from even contacting because I left past salary blank. I didn't check their hr boxes and that was likely one.

Re: New law bans California employers from asking applicants their prior salary

#364

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's a legit concern. Assuming it was possible, if only those in your company could see your salary (and you could see their salaries), would you be in favor of it? I'm also assuming that people in your company don't live in your neighborhood/wouldn't be burglary threats.

If your coworkers know it, everybody knows it. Not only are there blabbermouths and gossips everywhere, a coworker may have an axe to grind against you and will surreptitiously leak the information.

This is possible but a risk I was willing to take. I highly doubt my employees will post it online and run a massive SEO campaign for everyone to see.

Re: New law bans California employers from asking applicants their prior salary

#365

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No thank you. My salary is private. I do not want my family and friends to know how much I make. I also have never told a potential employer my salary. I believe it stopped things from going on to the interview stage but the way they took my refusal made me assume they paid under market rate.

>No thank you. >My salary is private. I do not want my family and friends to know how much I make. But have you thought about why you feel this way? I assume you are American, as am I, and so I understand we've been socialized by our culture to feel this way, but it really makes no sense. It's just a way to harm workers by keeping us from seeing when we're being screwed. I'd even go so far as to wager that this entir…

What culture is socialized to publicly disclose income?

Re: New law bans California employers from asking applicants their prior salary

#366
post #260

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>>But have you thought about why you feel this way? Yes. I don't want to increase my attractiveness regarding a house robbery, as I live well below my means in a developing neighborhood, amongst other reasons. I very much understand the concept of leverage and have no problems privately discussing my salary amongst groups that I trust. That doesn't include the entire Internet.

so you would outright reject any job in the government, even in a subsidised University?

Yes, certainly. For that and unrelated reasons.

Re: New law bans California employers from asking applicants their prior salary

#367

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>>But have you thought about why you feel this way? Yes. I don't want to increase my attractiveness regarding a house robbery, as I live well below my means in a developing neighborhood, amongst other reasons. I very much understand the concept of leverage and have no problems privately discussing my salary amongst groups that I trust. That doesn't include the entire Internet.

If we had more equality, which would be a result of forcing all salary info to be public, you wouldn't have to worry as much about being robbed.

That would not be the result of publishing salary information. It might be a drop in the bucket for equality at best. And you're speaking to someone who consistently votes and donates to democratic socialist candidates and causes.

Re: New law bans California employers from asking applicants their prior salary

#368

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The goal is to narrow the gender wage gap. This makes the law seem even more ridiculous to me. Do we really need the government stepping into the hiring process like this and micromanaging? It feels like they treating us like children incapable of tying our own shoes or something

I don't see a problem with it. I never saw the reason why any employer needed to know what someone was paid before. A job is worth around $X to your company to be performed. What I was paid in my previous job has absolutely no bearing on that.

But you can always use it to your leverage too, I have lied about my previous salary before and it worked out great.

Re: New law bans California employers from asking applicants their prior salary

#369

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>>But have you thought about why you feel this way? Yes. I don't want to increase my attractiveness regarding a house robbery, as I live well below my means in a developing neighborhood, amongst other reasons. I very much understand the concept of leverage and have no problems privately discussing my salary amongst groups that I trust. That doesn't include the entire Internet.

HN has zero understanding of the thoughts and motivations of robbers..

It's hilarious really. A home robber isn't going to download your salary history prior to robbing your house, chances are a lot of the money has gone into big heavy things that they aren't after anyway.

Thieve's are opportunists, they only question they ask is "how easily can I get into that house without getting caught?".

Re: New law bans California employers from asking applicants their prior salary

#370

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>>But have you thought about why you feel this way? Yes. I don't want to increase my attractiveness regarding a house robbery, as I live well below my means in a developing neighborhood, amongst other reasons. I very much understand the concept of leverage and have no problems privately discussing my salary amongst groups that I trust. That doesn't include the entire Internet.

>> Yes. I don't want to increase my attractiveness regarding a house robbery, as I live well below my means in a developing neighborhood, amongst other reasons. The entire point is that it's deeply screwed up for you to need to hide your wealth from your neighbors--or from some set of neighbors but not others--for fear of being robbed.

>> The entire point is that it's deeply screwed up for you to need to hide your wealth from your neighbors--or from some set of neighbors but not others--for fear of being robbed.

That's not the point of the commenter. Secondly, I reject your summary opinion that lacks evidence, but you are welcome to your own feelings.

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