Understand

On May 9, 2019 Governor Jay Inslee signed House Bill 1696, amending the Equal Pay and Opportunities Act, which went into effect July 28, 2019. With this change, hiring managers are no longer permitted to ask for or seek an applicant's current salary/wage or pay history prior to extending the job offer and the applicant accepting.

Guidance

Beginning immediately, all hiring managers, hiring authorities, Human Resources, and any other roles that may be involved in the hiring process will adhere to the following guidelines:

• You may not seek the salary history from the applicant, or their current or former employer, unless:
  1. The applicant voluntarily discloses their salary;
  2. You have negotiated and made a job offer, including the amount of compensation, to the applicant
• You may not seek an applicant's or candidate's salary expectations
• You may not require prior wage/salary to meet certain criteria
• You may not require employees to sign waivers or other document that prevent them from disclosing their salary
• Employees are not required to disclose their current or past salary
• Post offer, and upon the applicant's request, your agency must provide the minimum wage or salary of the position for which they are applying
• When a current employee is offered an internal transfer, a new position or a promotion, your agency must provide the new job's wage scale or salary range if the employee requests it
  • If no wage scale or salary range exists, you must provide the minimum wage or salary expectation set by the employer prior to posting the position, making a position transfer, or making the promotion
• You must include wage/salary minimum, full pay range or salary expectations set the employer on all job postings

If you have any questions please contact your assigned HR Business Partner.