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Employers who just last year revised their application forms to eliminate initial questions about past arrests and convictions, now have to revise them again to remove questions regarding current and past salary. On Jan. 23, 2017, Philadelphia’s mayor signed a wage equity ordinance (the Ordinance) which prohibits, among other things, employers from asking job applicants about prior wages or wage history. The goal of the law is to address the gender pay gap, as the Ordinance asserts that women workers in Pennsylvania earn 79 cents for every dollar a man earns.  Although Massachusetts has passed similar legislation that prohibits inquiries into a job applicant’s wage history, Philadelphia is the first city to do so. The law is slated to go into effect on May 23, 2017.

The Wage Equity Law

Prohibitions and Definitions

The Ordinance, which amends Philadelphia’s Fair Practice Ordinance, principally prohibits employers from relying on an applicant’s wage history to determine “the wages for such individual of any stage in the employment process.” It defines “employer” as “any person who does business in the City of Philadelphia through employees or who employs one or more employees exclusive of parents, spouse, life partner or children, including public agency or authority; any agency, authority or other instrumentality of the Commonwealth; and the City, its departments, boards and commissions.” To “inquire” means “to ask a job applicant in writing or otherwise.” The term “wages” is broadly defined to include wages, commissions, and fringe benefits.

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Photo of Adam Roseman Adam Roseman

Adam Roseman focuses his practice on federal and state labor and employment investigations, counseling and litigation arising under Title VII, the Fair Labor Standards Act, whistleblower retaliation under Sarbanes-Oxley and Dodd-Frank, the Occupational Safety and Health Act, and restrictive covenants. Adam also has

Adam Roseman focuses his practice on federal and state labor and employment investigations, counseling and litigation arising under Title VII, the Fair Labor Standards Act, whistleblower retaliation under Sarbanes-Oxley and Dodd-Frank, the Occupational Safety and Health Act, and restrictive covenants. Adam also has experience on white collar matters, representing clients during internal investigations and in civil and criminal government enforcement actions including the defense of qui tam/False Claims Act complaints.

Photo of Kelly Dobbs Bunting Kelly Dobbs Bunting

Kelly Bunting is Co-Chair of the firm’s Labor & Employment Practice’s Workforce Compliance & Regulatory Enforcement group. She litigates federal and state class and collective actions alleging wage and hour violations, misclassification, overtime, minimum wage and off-the-clock work. She also defends employers around

Kelly Bunting is Co-Chair of the firm’s Labor & Employment Practice’s Workforce Compliance & Regulatory Enforcement group. She litigates federal and state class and collective actions alleging wage and hour violations, misclassification, overtime, minimum wage and off-the-clock work. She also defends employers around the country in single plaintiff litigation involving gender, age, disability, race, national origin, religious and pregnancy discrimination, harassment and retaliation; whistleblower claims; theft of trade secrets; breach of duty; breach of employment agreements and restrictive covenants. Kelly has appeared before the EEOC, the NLRB, the DOL and many state agencies. She drafts and negotiates national and international employment agreements, secondment agreements, settlement and severance agreements. She has represented employers in numerous U.S. Department of Labor audits and investigations, and has conducted labor and employment due diligence in many M&A transactions.

Kelly advises multinational clients on workplace policies, best practices, internal investigations, cross-border issues and employment-related FCPA/anti-corruption law compliance. She is a founding member of the Global Workforce Solutions group, and has spoken on U.S. and international L&E topics around the world. In 2018, Kelly was listed in Who’s Who in Labour & Employment Law. In 2014, 2015 and 2016, Kelly was ranked as “Recommended” by The Legal 500 United States for her work in Labor and Employment: Workplace and Employment Counseling and is a member of Philadelphia’s first-tier ranked Labor & Employment Practice by U.S. News-Best Lawyers.