Whether an interviewer can ask your current salary depends on where the job is located. There is no federal law barring the question, but roughly 22 states and about two dozen cities and counties have banned it outright. In every other jurisdiction the question is legal, though you are never required to answer it.
No Federal Law Bans the Question
Congress has floated bills to prohibit salary history questions nationwide, but none has become law. The most recent attempt, the Salary History Question Prohibition Act, was introduced in the 119th Congress and remains pending as of 2026.1Congress.gov. H.R.2219 – 119th Congress (2025-2026) – Salary History Question Prohibition Act Without a federal statute, the rules default to whatever the state or city says. In a jurisdiction that has not passed its own ban, a private employer can legally ask what you make now or what you made at your last job.
One caveat worth knowing: a proposed rule under the Biden administration would have barred federal contractors from seeking or considering applicants’ pay history, but it was never finalized. Federal contractor employees do not currently have a blanket protection from the question through that route.
Where the Question Is Illegal
As of early 2026, approximately 22 states and 24 local jurisdictions restrict salary history inquiries in hiring. Coverage varies. Some laws reach only private employers above a certain headcount; others apply to every employer including government agencies. New laws pass every year, so it is worth checking your specific state and city before the interview.
The point of these laws is to break a cycle. When an employer builds an offer around what you already make, any underpayment in your past gets carried into your future. That falls hardest on workers who were underpaid to begin with. The bans force employers to price the role on its own terms rather than on a number that may reflect prior discrimination.
What a Typical Ban Covers
Most bans prohibit three things. The employer cannot ask you directly about current or past wages, bonuses, or benefits. The employer cannot go looking for that information through a background check vendor or your prior employer. And in many jurisdictions, if the employer learns your pay history through some other route, they still cannot use it to set your offer.
Stronger bans keep the prohibition in place even if you volunteer the number yourself. More permissive versions let the employer consider salary history you offer up, sometimes only after an initial offer has been made and you are using the number to argue for more.
Volunteering Your Number Is Not Always Safe
Candidates often assume that offering the current salary gives them negotiating leverage. Sometimes it does. But the rules on voluntary disclosure differ dramatically by jurisdiction. Some let the employer factor in the number the moment you share it. Others prohibit use of that information regardless of how the employer learned it. In a jurisdiction with a strong ban, the safest move is to keep the number to yourself and steer the conversation toward what you want going forward.
Recruiters and Staffing Agencies
The bans do not evaporate when a third party is doing the asking. Several jurisdictions extend their rules to agents acting on the employer’s behalf, including outside recruiters, staffing agencies, and headhunters. An employer cannot do indirectly what the law bars directly. Recruiters working across state lines follow the rules of the jurisdiction where the job sits, not where the recruiter’s office happens to be.
Internal Promotions and Transfers
If you are already at the company and interviewing for a promotion or transfer, whether the ban applies depends on the jurisdiction. Some places exempt internal moves on the theory that the employer already knows your pay. Others apply the ban anyway when setting pay for the new role. A few split the difference: the employer can consider your current internal salary but not anything from before you joined. If you are moving internally, HR should know the local rule, but asking is fair.
What Employers Can Still Ask
Even under the strictest bans, employers can ask what you want to earn. “What are your salary expectations for this role?” is legal everywhere. The distinction is direction: history looks backward, expectations look forward. Employers can also ask about non-salary pieces of your package, such as benefits, signing bonus, or equity. And in jurisdictions with pay transparency rules, the employer may be required to share the position’s pay range with you either in the posting or on request, which gives you a real starting point instead of a guess.
Pay Transparency Is Changing the Conversation
A parallel wave of laws is quietly making the salary history question less useful to employers. A growing number of states now require employers to include a pay range in the job posting itself, or at minimum to disclose the range on request. Thresholds vary. Some laws apply to all employers, others only to companies above 15, 25, or 50 employees.
Where these laws are in force, you walk into the interview already knowing the budgeted range. That reshapes the negotiation. Instead of the employer anchoring you to your old number, you anchor the discussion to the posted range and argue for where you belong within it. States that passed salary history bans have often followed up with transparency rules, and the two work together: the ban keeps your past out of the equation, the transparency law puts the employer’s budget on the table.
How to Answer the Question in the Room
Knowing the law is one thing. Handling the moment the question lands is another. Interviewers sometimes ask out of habit rather than strategy, and how you respond shapes the rest of the negotiation.
- Redirect to expectations. Something like: “I’m looking for a total compensation package in the range of $X to $Y based on the scope of this role and current market rates.” That answers what the interviewer actually needs to know, which is whether you fit their budget, without handing over your current number.
- Name the ban if one applies. “I understand that question isn’t permitted here, but I’m happy to share my expectations for this role.” Direct, not confrontational. Most interviewers move on.
- Decline politely where no ban applies. “I prefer to keep my current compensation confidential, but I’ve researched the market for this type of role and I’m targeting $X to $Y.” No law requires you to answer, and a reasonable employer will respect that.
- Do the research first. The redirect only works if your number is credible. Check salary data for the role, industry, and location before the interview so your expectation sounds informed.
If an Employer Pushes Back
If an interviewer keeps pressing after you have declined, or penalizes you for not answering in a jurisdiction where the question is banned, that may itself be a violation. State labor agencies accept complaints, and several jurisdictions allow private lawsuits for back pay, compensatory damages, and attorney’s fees. It is also useful information about the company. Employers who respect the spirit of these laws tend to lead with the pay range instead of asking you to show your cards first.