New law bars employers from asking for your salary history

If you're looking for a big bump in salary, try applying for jobs in Massachusetts.

The state is the first to bar employers from asking your salary history before offering a job, thanks to a law signed Monday.

The regulation is part of broader equal pay legislation meant to narrow the gap between the 79 cents women make for every dollar men earn.

Barring employers from asking about salary history is one way to prevent that pay gap from being perpetuated as women move from job to job.

And of course, preventing employers from making assumptions about your level of compensation early on in the interview process can benefit any job-seeker, regardless of gender. An early job at an underpaying company can haunt a worker's earning potential for years afterward -- as many a millennial who graduated during the financial crisis can attest.

But the law doesn't address all the issues that lead to the wage gap. Women are still often offered lower salaries to begin with, and face more hurdles in negotiating higher compensation. Keeping a salary history private doesn't change an initial offer that was always going to be low-balled.

Women's lost potential income due to the wage gap comes to $490 billion every year.

Still, advocates are praising the legislation as some of the most progressive in the nation in the fight for equal pay, at the state or federal level.

"Pay equity is not only a women’s issue, it’s a family issue, and with this new law on the books, we are closer to closing the pay gap in our state,” Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey said in a statement.

This step is just one among the many provisions Massachusetts has taken to close the wage gap. It more broadly defines "comparable work," to ensure those working similar roles with different titles are paid comparably -- for example a secretary vs. an administrative assistant. It also takes steps to ensure women aren't penalized in seniority for taking maternity leave.