New York City just took a major step toward equal pay

The day after Equal Pay Day, New York City took a major step toward salary equity.

The New York City Council passed a bill on Wednesday that makes it illegal for employers to ask for potential employees' salary histories — a milestone in the fight for equal pay.

The legislation, proposed to the city council by the New York City public advocate's office in August, prevents employers from asking candidates about their past salaries during job interviews. That's important, because revealing past salaries can perpetuate the cycle of lower pay for women and underrepresented minorities as they move from job to job.

“Being underpaid once should not condemn one to a lifetime of inequity,” Public Advocate Letitia James said in a statement. “Today, the New York City Council passed my bill that will ban employers from asking about previous salary information, a practice that is known to perpetuate a cycle of wage discrimination. We will never close the wage gap unless we continue to enact proactive policies that promote economic justice and equity.”

The bill passed the day after Equal Pay Day, the day in 2017 women had to work until to earn what men did in 2016. The date is based on the statistic that women earn about 80 cents for every dollar men earn. That number is even lower for women of color.

For every dollar earned by a white man in New York, a white woman earns 84 cents, an Asian woman earns 63 cents, a black woman earns 55 cents, and a Hispanic woman earns 46 cents. James hopes her bill will change that.

New York City's legislation follows similar efforts in Massachusetts and Philadelphia. A few companies, including Kickstarter, publicly backed the New York bill before it passed.