On January 9, 2017, New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo issued an executive order aimed at ensuring pay equity. The executive order prohibits the State from asking job applicants about their current or previous compensation history until a conditional offer of employment with compensation has been extended.

Such measures have become increasingly popular in employee-friendly states and localities. Effective January 1, 2017, California employers are prohibited from relying on an employee’s prior salary to justify a disparity between the salaries of similarly situated employees. And beginning July 1, 2018, Massachusetts employers will be prohibited from screening job applicants based on their salary histories, requiring applicants to provide their salary history before receiving a formal job offer, and seeking the salary history of prospective employees from current or former employers prior to extending an offer of employment. Other jurisdictions, including Philadelphia, New York City, and New Jersey, are considering barring similar pre-hire inquiries of salary history.

New York employers should expect these types of measures to soon affect the private sector, too. Employers generally should anticipate similar legislation to spread to other employee-friendly jurisdictions.