AB 2282 (Eggman) takes effect on January 1, 2019 and the new law will provide clarity to employers and job applicants on several provisions of existing California law that is intended to prohibit the use of prior salary history in negotiations between employers and applicants for employment.

Effective January 1, 2018, AB 168 (Eggman) prohibited employers from asking about or relying upon prior salary history information when determining salaries for employees. However, as a result of several ambiguities in the law as established by AB 168, Assemblywoman Eggman authored AB 2282 during the 2018 Legislative Session.

AB 2282 makes a number of important law changes by:

* • Clarifying that existing law does not prohibit an employer from asking about an applicant for employment’s salary expectation for the position for which he or she has applied.

* • Allowing an employer to make a compensation decision based upon a current employee’s current salary so long as any wage differential from the particular compensation is justified under the law.

* • Requiring an employer to provide a pay scale upon reasonable request by an applicant.

* • Eliminating the requirement that “prior salary shall not, by itself, justify any disparity in compensation.” AB 2282 now provides that “prior salary shall not justify any disparity in compensation.”

Chris Micheli is an attorney and legislative advocate for the Sacramento governmental relations firm of Aprea & Micheli, Inc. He can be reached at 916-448-3075