Columbus Chamber of Commerce concerned about proposed ban on pay history questions

The Columbus Chamber of Commerce is expressing reservations about legislation before the Columbus City Council that would bar employers in the city from asking job candidates about their salary history.

Introduced this past week by Councilmember Lourdes Barroso de Padilla, the legislation would, in addition, prohibit employers from screening job applicants based on their salary history; from relying solely on salary history when deciding whether to hire someone; and from refusing to hire someone for not providing their salary history.

Cincinnati and Toledo have similar bans in place. In Columbus, employers with 15 or more employees would be subject to the ban. Federal, state and local government employees would be excluded, with the exception of city of Columbus employees.

Columbus Chamber of Commerce fears ban on pay history questions would harm business operations

Desmond Bryant, vice president of governmental relations at the Columbus Chamber of Commerce, said the chamber is concerned the legislation would harm business operations.

"The Columbus Chamber believes employers, not the government, are in the best position to make decisions regarding their respective hiring process," the chamber said in a statement provided by Bryant. "Business owners should have the freedom to make sound decisions with regard to hiring their workforce and to adopt practices that meet the needs of their respective workplaces.”

In an interview, Bryant said laws in place like the Equal Pay Act of 1963 and the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 already protect employees from pay discrimination.

Bryant said he hopes the council will provide tools and resources to help businesses understand how their some of their practices may be harmful instead of passing a law that mandate how they should operate.

More:What is Equal Pay Day and how does Columbus measure up?

The response from Columbus businesses has been mixed.

A spokesperson for JP Morgan Chase declined to comment on the legislation, but said the financial giant does not currently ask about salary or credit history as part of its application or interview process.

A spokesperson for Cardinal Health also declined comment, but said the Dublin-based healthcare services company eliminated pay history questions several years ago. "We also formed a committee in 2019 to analyze pay equity within our organization and we conduct annual audits that identify potential pay gaps," the spokesperson added.

Nationwide said it was monitoring the legislation and Safelite AutoGlass did not respond to a request for comment.

If passed, the legislation would take effect March 1, 2024. The Columbus Department of Neighborhoods' Community Relations Commission would be tasked with investigating complaints, and employers who run afoul of the ban could be subject to fines.

Asking about salary history perpetuates gender pay gap, critics of the practice say

Employers use salary history to make employment decisions and determine an employee's new salary. But Barroso de Padilla argues the practice perpetuates historic gender inequalities.

"Asking a worker about their salary history and relying upon that information when making a job offer can perpetuate any previous disadvantages that worker experienced in the market," the legislation reads.

More:An Ohio State professor fought for equal pay and won. Here's how

Robin Bleiweis, a research associate for women’s economic security with the Women’s Initiative at the Center for American Progress, a left-leaning think tank, wrote in an article last year that asking a job applicant about their prior salary can have "unintended, harmful consequences, including barring qualified candidates from job opportunities and systematically relegating women and workers of color — particularly women of color — to lower pay that may have been set lower because of discrimination."

Banning Columbus employers from collecting salary history, with some exceptions, would help close the gender pay gap, Barroso de Padilla argues. In 2022, women earned an average of 82% of what men earned, according to the Pew Research Center.

“The pay gap is directly contributed to the wealth gap,” Barroso de Padilla said last month, noting how women of color in particular have missed out on hundreds of thousands of dollars during their lifetime.

A spokesperson for Barroso de Padilla said she plans to introduce a separate measure that would prevent employers in Columbus from asking job candidates about their credit history.

Monroe Trombly covers the workplace and environmental issues for The Columbus Dispatch.

mtrombly@dispatch.com

@monroetrombly

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus chamber concerned with pay history question ban proposal