this post was submitted on 11 Aug 2023
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Exactly what the title says. I was asked my current base salary, not what I'm looking for. And when I refused they tried to pressure me into answering. I don't want them doing this to other people who don't know it's illegal.

I did try googling but didn't see any answers aside from "sue them". Shouldn't there be a way to report it to the labor board or something?

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[–] [email protected] 70 points 1 year ago (1 children)

https://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/california_equal_pay_act.htm

This FAQ for the law in question has a link for complaints. It's an equal pay act violation.

  1. Where and when can a person file a claim if they were aggrieved by a violation of Labor Code Section 432.3?
    The person may file a complaint with the Labor Commissioner’s Office, the state agency charged with enforcement. A written complaint must be filed within one year after the date the person learned of the violation.
[–] [email protected] 17 points 1 year ago

Problem is that the labor commissioner's office is so backed up, it's a coin toss whether they'll ever actually get to your case

[–] [email protected] 51 points 1 year ago

I believe you can contact your states or local labor board office and report it.

[–] [email protected] 33 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Just lie about it like everyone else

[–] [email protected] 25 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

It worked great for my last job. I was earning 45 k€ a year (before taxes, it's weird), and when they asked I told them I earned 65 k€ but wouldn't mind a lower salary since the job was good. We settled on 62 k€. It was the biggest raise I got so far.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Yeah who the fuck tells the truth with that shit. Literally lie about it or tell them current market rate is what you make.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Go freeze your "work number" as well. Equifax will sell any records of your pay to companies for $60/pop.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (2 children)

What do you mean by freezing your work number?

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Equifax, one of the credit bureaus, will sell you income data to any company that pays. They call that service "the work number.' This means that in a salary negotiation where you want 100k, and they want to pay 60k, they can see your current salary is 40k. If they have that info, they are going to low ball you. If they dont have that info, they might pay the 100k, or 80k, etc. They sure arent going to tell you how much they are willing to pay, so why give them anyway to get that information about how much you will take?

Equifax are evil fucks, so of course you cant opt out entirely, but you you can go to equifax and demand they freeze this info so that no company can buy it. Its a pain, but here is a method:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27705428

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Also curious about this

[–] [email protected] 27 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)
[–] [email protected] 26 points 1 year ago (2 children)

You can always answer “I’m looking for $ x amount for my next role. “ if they push just repeat that.

[–] [email protected] 28 points 1 year ago (1 children)

You can also just lie about your current salary.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 year ago

My current salary is 10^12

[–] [email protected] 15 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The best advise I've heard for handling illegal questions is to first say "I'd prefer not to answer that question, I'm perfectly capable of performing the duties expected of this role" or in this case of course end with "my preferred salary range is $x" then if they keep pushing to say "I don't believe that is a question you can legally ask me" its tactful, avoids answering an illegal question and doesn't come across as know-it-ally while still informing the probably undertrained interviewer

[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 year ago

"Oh, I'm not a sapiosexual myself, but I am a know-it-ally."