Asking Current compensation
I was asked by a recruiter my current compensation in the first call before moving to the phone screen. The company is in Bay Area and I am in Seattle. Is it legal for them to ask?
If you are in Washington, I believe it is legal. If you were in CA, definitely not legal.
I am in WA but company is in CA
I think the better question they should be asking and you should be thinking about is, “What are your comp + benefits expectations for xx market and xx role.” Current comp doesnt really matter, your comp expectations do. As does market value of role, etc.
Might be legal or not. Doesn’t really matter if you don’t tell them. I just ask why your current compensation is relevant? It’s their position and they know the value of it. What you currently make isn’t relevant. I also say that my current employer considers that privileged info.
List of States where Salary History question is Banned: California (as of Jan 2018), Delaware (Dec 2017), Massachusetts (July 2018), New Orleans (affects city departments and city contractors only), New York City (Oct 31, 2017), Oregon (Jan 2019), Philadelphia (TBC), Pittsburgh (affects city employees only, effective immediately), Puerto Rico (March 2018). Doesn’t matter where you reside at the time - if the job is in one of the above, they can’t ask that question.
Wow, what is this “illegal” company?
The famous salary negotiation article (http://www.kalzumeus.com/2012/01/23/salary-negotiation/) tells us that recruiters essentially expect to get one free shot at this question. In my experience, most won't push it if you decline (only had one continue to press me, turns out the company just couldn't afford me).
I always ask them what the range is for the role. Then I get more info and then can say if I’m interested or not.
If in 2018, is illegal.