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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

#471

Post by KirinDave »

recursive wrote: post #416
rconti wrote: post #188

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apparently, yes, as this gap has not narrowed. This seems like a very low-impact way to ensure that your past salary history is not used against you. Why should it be? And what is the burden of simply disallowing a line of questioning, with no burdensome reporting or auditing requirements?

If the gap was virtually unmeasurable before, and it hasn't narrowed, it doesn't exactly seem like a case for more regulation.

It's weird how well-measured an "unmeasurable" value is...

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

#472

Post by conanbatt »

wildmusings wrote: post #264
oh_sigh wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ok, but know that completely rational nations have decided to go with OPs way(like Norway)

Yes, and excellence is not rewarded in such societies. Edit: Look at how pay works in countries where such information is public (i.e. Scandinavia). My understanding is that within a given line of work, everyone makes just about the same amount, adjusted for seniority, regardless of performance.

This happens also in germany and spain and europe in general.

Its just america that pays so damn much for developers, because of the competing capital. Price transparency is definitely not harming employees, and its also not harming companies in the long run.

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

#473

Post by alphonsegaston »

thoekn230eo wrote: post #433
alphonsegaston wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Considering that companies like Google and Apple went to illegal extremes to prevent competition for labor and depress employee wages, I find it unlikely that they’re not going to do the same thing here. They’ll probably invent some cryptic, convoluted means to launder the data, and if they ever get caught, pay whatever slap on the wrist fine is the cost of doing this kind of stuff.

I'm as cynical as you are, and even won an award in that lawsuit. However, aren't both companies under different management now? (Tim vs. Steve, etc.)

Apple, maybe. Google, not so much. Still skeptical either way.

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

#474

Post by sjg007 »

salarycommenter wrote: post #303
sjg007 wrote: post #199

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know why everyone thinks Google pays well... It was only a few years ago that they gave everyone a 10% raise across the board to address issues of underpayment. That was probably due to the Facebook threat. In addition, lest we forget, all of the big tech companies colluded to depress wages as well.

This is consistent with my experience. Was making 175k in a lower cost of living area. Google wanted to pay 190k and require relocation to Mountain View. Had an offer in hand from another company for 240k. Google refused to negotiate. What a waste of my time. Never again. The two people I know who came to Google as juniors are forever typecast as such and are also not being paid well. Not Google continued to treat me…

Ok.. for what role? That's pretty high pay!

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

#476

Post by chc »

ada1981 wrote: post #456
chc wrote: post #424

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wouldn't applying for credit based on "aspirational" finances be fraud?

It generally asked your household income. This means many 18 year olds can report 6 or even 7 figure household incomes.

I wouldn't call that an aspirational income, though — would you? That's just your real household income. It's also not an option for most adults, who are almost all older than 18.

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

#477

Post by darklajid »

ada1981 wrote: post #456
chc wrote: post #424

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wouldn't applying for credit based on "aspirational" finances be fraud?

It generally asked your household income. This means many 18 year olds can report 6 or even 7 figure household incomes.

Putting aside the household income for a moment: "Many" being able to report 6 figure incomes seems quiiiiite a stretch to me, 7 seems insane.

Do you have a source for this? Or can you define "many" some more?

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

#478

Post by the_watcher »

pmoriarty wrote: post #4

This is a ban on employers -- afaik, recruiters can still ask (and many probably will ask). But, IANAL. (Correction: It looks like recruiters fall under this prohibition too, if they are acting as agents of the employer.) I personally never answer questions about my previous salary or my expected salary. When HR has given me forms to fill out that have questions about either I just leave them blank, and they've never…

> In the US it's frowned upon, but I hear it's quite common in Europe.

It's frowned upon by (most, not all) employers, but they are legally prohibited from banning sharing of employee salaries (as long as you are sharing your own information, not others). The culture of not sharing salary between employees is more an artifact of American culture to limit discussion of politics, religion, and money to those you are closest to (which has been changing to varying degrees).

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

#480

Post by the_watcher »

CodeWriter23 wrote: post #393
ryandrake wrote: post #252

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Would you be OK with the prospective employee quoting you a salary 20% above what he's currently making if you asked?

Sure. I can ask for salary history once the individual is no longer an applicant and if I can’t confirm they told the truth, I can fire them on the spot without cause. California is an at will employment state.

Seems like you've stumbled upon an opportunity both exploit your employees and bias your hiring towards candidates who don't realize you are exploiting them!
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