I don't have a problem with them asking. I politely decline to tell them and move on. I have yet to have it be a stumbling block. An employer asking is a fairly standard practice, as is a potential employee not providing that information.

I've had an employer refuse to proceed with an offer unless I provide salary history.

"Thank you for for self-identifying. Good day."

That would have been my response.

Some companies ask for your previous W2 as proof.

So refuse it. Tax documents are private.

> Tax documents are private

But required for lots of stuff. E.g. 1098 for employment, tax returns for getting a loan.

Then they fire you.

Then you find a job someplace that isn't trying to screw you out of thousands of dollars a year.

That's not a realistic option for most people.

Yeah, think about the children.

Can't you just lie about it? How are they going to check? And if they do ask for evidence can't you simply walk away from the opportunity?

That said, a better way to defuse the question without lying is to say something like "My former employers consider salary data confidential as I'm sure you do too, but my expected salary for this role is [true_target * math.randrange(1.1, 1.4)]."

A law prohibiting employers from asking questions is much easier to enforce than anti-discrimination laws. I would still be willing to compromise by limiting anti-discrimination laws to manual labor jobs though.

Good. It's none of their business.

I keep wondering these days who is left to stand up for good old fashion capitalism and liberty

What part of a negotiation where one side has all the data and the other side has next to none is considered part of "good old fashion capitalism"?

If a company wants my salary data I'll be happy be to provide it as soon as they provide me their accounting books. I wouldn't want to ask for too low a salary if I knew they could afford more

I just refuse to give my data until they tell me what they have budgeted for the position so we are on equal grounds.

how does this close the gender wage gap?

1 ) Banning past salary inquiries allows more rapid increases in salary, thus accelerating a trend induced by other factors of a shrinking gender gap. This is also why you should always refuse to reveal your past salary.

2 ) Assertive behavior like refusing to reveal past salary is viewed (consciously or unconsciously) as a positive trait in men and a negative one in women. This puts women at a disadvantage during salary negotiations generally, and specifically when asked to provide information that will prevent them from entering a position with a higher salary.

We'll see if that's the actual effect in practice. Young professional women make more money than their male counterparts. If they're not as good at negotiating as their male counterparts, this may negate their only advantage.

Out of curiosity do you have statistics for that? The female professionals I know make far less than the males, but as I'm in software I know about 10 men for every woman so it's not really a population size large enough to base conclusions off of

This will also help anyone who wants to transition from the non-profit world where salaries are much lower.