How to Handle Salary History Questions (And Which States Ban Them)

"What are you currently making?"

For decades, that question sat quietly in the middle of American phone screens, and it did enormous damage. Your answer anchored the entire negotiation to your past instead of the job's value. If you were underpaid at your last job (because of an entry-level start, a market downturn, discrimination, or a lower-paying country or industry), the question imported that underpayment into your next offer, and the one after that. Pay gaps did not just persist; they compounded, one salary history question at a time.

That is exactly why a wave of US states and cities began banning the question, and why the modern answer to "what do you currently make?" is often: they are not allowed to ask, and you never have to answer.

This guide covers where the bans apply, your rights and options in both banned and non-banned jurisdictions, exact scripts for every version of the question (phone screens, application form boxes, persistent recruiters), the crucial difference between salary history and salary expectations, and special guidance for international candidates whose past salaries mean nothing in the US market anyway.

Salary History vs Salary Expectations: The Distinction That Runs This Whole Topic

Two questions sound similar and are legally and strategically different:

"What is your current or past salary?" This is a salary history question. It asks about your past compensation. This is the question that many states ban and that you should essentially never answer voluntarily, anywhere.

"What are your salary expectations for this role?" This is a forward-looking question about what you want. It is legal everywhere, it is a normal part of US hiring, and you should walk in with a prepared answer based on market research.

Every script in this article follows one strategy: refuse or deflect the history question, and redirect to the expectations conversation, where your research (not your past) sets the anchor.

Where Salary History Questions Are Banned

A substantial and growing share of the US workforce is covered by salary history bans. Statewide bans exist in a long list of states including California, New York, Washington, Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oregon, Connecticut, Maryland, Hawaii, Delaware, Vermont, Rhode Island, Alabama, Maine, Nevada, and others, with additional bans at the city and county level (New York City, Philadelphia, Cincinnati, Toledo, Atlanta for city roles, and more). Some bans cover all employers; others cover only public employers or have carve-outs.

Because this map changes regularly (new laws pass, courts adjust others), treat any static list as a snapshot, including this one. Before an interview, spend two minutes searching "[your state or city] salary history ban" to confirm your local rule. What the strongest bans typically prohibit:

• Asking about your current or past compensation, on applications or in interviews
• Screening candidates based on salary history
• Relying on past salary to set your offer
• In some jurisdictions, retaliating against candidates who decline to answer

What bans generally do NOT prohibit:

• Asking your salary expectations (always allowed)
• You voluntarily disclosing your history (allowed, and in some places the employer may then consider it, which is one more reason not to volunteer it)
• Verifying compensation after an offer is made, in some jurisdictions, typically to the extent you disclosed something

Two adjacent rights are worth knowing while we are here. First, pay transparency laws in a growing set of states (Colorado, California, New York, Washington, and others) require salary ranges in job postings, which increasingly hands you the anchor before anyone asks you anything. Second, under federal labor law, most private-sector employees have the right to discuss their pay with coworkers, whatever a manager or handbook implies.

The Scripts: What to Actually Say

When asked in a state with a ban

You can simply note the rule, gracefully:

"I understand employers here don't ask about salary history, but I'm happy to talk about expectations: based on my research for this role and market, I'm targeting a range of X to Y. Is that aligned with your budget?"

You are not scolding anyone. Many recruiters operate across states and genuinely lose track; a warm redirect keeps the conversation productive while declining the question.

When asked anywhere else (no ban)

The question is legal, but your answer is still optional, and deflection is standard professional behavior, not rudeness:

"I'd rather focus on the value of this role than my previous compensation. Based on the responsibilities we've discussed and my research, I'm targeting X to Y. How does that fit your range?"

If they push a second time:

"My previous compensation reflected a different role, market, and scope, so it isn't a useful benchmark here. I'm confident we can find a number that works if the fit is right. Can you share the budgeted range for this position?"

Notice the countermove built into both scripts: ask for their range. In many states they must publish it anyway, and even where they need not, asking is fair and often answered.

The application form box that demands a number

Online forms with a required "current salary" field are the clumsiest version of the question. Options, in order of preference:

1. Leave it blank if the form allows.
2. Enter 0 or 000 if it requires digits, then clarify in any notes field or at the screen: "The form required a number; I prefer to discuss expectations."
3. If there is a text field, write "Negotiable" or "Market rate."

For an "expected salary" field, enter the bottom of your researched range or "Negotiable" if text is allowed. A number in this box is soft, not binding; you can refine it in conversation.

When you actually want to share

Occasionally disclosure serves you: your current pay is strong and anchors high. Even then, frame it as expectations, not history: "My total compensation target is X, in line with what I'd be leaving behind." You gain the anchor without opening your pay stubs for inspection.

Setting Your Expectations Number (So the Pivot Has Somewhere to Land)

Deflection only works if you can name a confident range. Build it before the first screen:

1. Research the market: salary data sites, the ranges in comparable job postings (pay transparency laws have made these abundant), and conversations with people in similar roles. Weight recent, location-specific data most heavily.
2. Adjust for the specifics: company size, industry, your experience level, and the full scope of the role as described.
3. Set a range, not a point: the bottom of your stated range should be a number you would genuinely accept, because employers hear the bottom loudest. A spread of roughly 10 to 20 percent reads as researched rather than random.
4. Think total compensation: base salary plus bonus, equity, retirement match, and benefits. Two offers with the same base can differ enormously.

Then say the range with a period at the end, not an apology. "I'm targeting 85 to 95 thousand" lands differently than "somewhere around maybe 80s, but I'm flexible, whatever works."

For International Candidates: Your Old Salary Is Not Evidence

If your work history is in Nigeria, India, the Philippines, or anywhere with a different salary market, the salary history question carries a special trap: converting your previous pay to dollars produces a number that is meaningless for US work and devastating as an anchor. A strong professional salary in Lagos, converted to dollars, can look like entry-level US pay or less. Anchoring to it can cost you tens of thousands of dollars a year.

The rules for you:

• Never convert and disclose your home-country salary. It measures a different market, cost structure, and currency, not your value in this one.
• Answer every version of the question with US market expectations researched for the role and location, exactly like a domestic candidate: "My previous compensation was in a different market and currency, so it isn't comparable. For this role in this market, I'm targeting X to Y."
• Application form boxes: same tactics as above; never type a converted figure.
• Know that the same logic protects you in reverse: your US offer should be set by the US market, and any employer suggesting your home-country history justifies a lower offer is telling you something about how they will treat you as an employee.

This pairs with the broader principle from our guide to US resume etiquette: salary figures never belong on your resume in the first place, so the topic should only ever arise in conversation, where your scripts are ready.

Timing: When the Money Conversation Happens

Compensation typically surfaces at the recruiter screen ("what are your expectations?"), goes quiet through interviews, and returns at the offer stage, where the real negotiation lives. Handle the early question with your range, then let your interviews raise your perceived value before numbers finalize. If you receive an offer, remember that verbal numbers are movable and that the strongest negotiation window is between the verbal offer and your signature. And as our at-will employment guide explains, everything meaningful belongs in writing before you resign anywhere else; the same discipline applies to negotiated compensation. For where all of this sits in the overall process, see our hiring timeline guide.

Salary History FAQ

Can an employer legally ask my salary history? Depends on where. Many states and cities ban the question outright; elsewhere it remains legal to ask, though never mandatory to answer. Check your jurisdiction's current rule before interviewing.

Can I be rejected for refusing to share my salary history? In ban jurisdictions, retaliating against a refusal is generally prohibited. Elsewhere, an employer could hold it against you in theory, but a polite pivot to expectations almost never costs a candidate the process in practice; it is the expected professional move.

Is "what are your salary expectations" also banned? No. Expectations questions are legal everywhere and normal. The bans target your compensation history, not your asking price.

What if I already told them my current salary? The anchor is set but not cemented. Reframe at the offer stage: "My expectations for this role are based on its scope and market rate, which is X to Y." Strong interview performance regularly beats an early low anchor.

Do the bans apply to internal transfers and promotions? Usually not in the same way; your current employer already knows your pay. Internal moves are negotiated against the role's range and your performance.

Can a background check reveal my old salary anyway? Standard employment verification confirms titles and dates, and in ban jurisdictions employers are restricted from seeking pay history. Some verification databases contain pay data, but reputable employers in ban states configure checks to exclude it. Never rely on secrecy, though; rely on your refusal to anchor.

Should I put expected salary on my resume or cover letter? No. Numbers on documents are anchors you cannot adjust to context. Keep compensation in conversation, where your range can respond to what you learn.

As a candidate from abroad, what if the recruiter insists on my previous salary "for the file"? Offer the substance without the trap: "I can share that it was a competitive senior-level package for that market. For this role, my expectations are X to Y." If a process truly cannot proceed without a foreign pay stub, treat that as diagnostic.

The Question About Your Past Deserves an Answer About Your Future

Salary history questions survive on reflex: they get asked because they were always asked, and answered because refusing feels risky. It is not. Between the spreading legal bans, pay transparency laws, and the simple professionalism of a well-delivered pivot, the ground has shifted to the candidate who arrives with a researched range and the composure to state it.

Your leverage starts earlier than the negotiation, though: it starts with being a candidate worth negotiating for. Build the resume that gets you into those conversations with MyCVCreator's free resume builder, clean, ATS-friendly, and salary-figure-free by design.

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Related reading:

US Resume Etiquette: 10 Things to Delete ·

How Long Does US Hiring Take? ·

At-Will Employment Explained