Philadelphia salary history ban for employers (2026): Code 9-1131, Regulation 7 and what you may still ask

Philadelphia bans salary history questions for any job located in the city. Philadelphia Code section 9-1131, the Wage Equity Ordinance, makes it an unlawful employment practice for an employer, an employment agency, or any of their employees or agents to ask about, require or condition an interview on a candidate's wage history, or to rely on pay from a current or former employer unless the candidate disclosed it "knowingly and willingly." The Third Circuit upheld both rules in February 2020, the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations has enforced them since September 1, 2020, and, as of November 2026, the section is unchanged since it took effect in 2017.

What does section 9-1131 say?

City Council passed Bill No. 160840 on December 8, 2016; it was signed January 23, 2017 and, per the code's history note, took effect May 23, 2017. It added section 9-1131 to the Fair Practices Ordinance (chapter 9-1100), so the city's general anti-discrimination procedures and remedies apply to it. Section 9-1131(2)(a) makes it unlawful for "an employer, employment agency, or employee or agent thereof":

• The inquiry provision: "To inquire about a prospective employee's wage history, require disclosure of wage history, or condition employment or consideration for an interview or employment on disclosure of wage history," or to retaliate against a candidate who does not answer or who opposes a violation.
• The reliance provision: "To rely on the wage history of a prospective employee from any current or former employer of the individual in determining the wages for such individual at any stage in the employment process, including the negotiation or drafting of any employment contract," unless the candidate "knowingly and willingly disclosed" it.

Two definitions in section 9-1131(2)(c) set the reach:

• "To inquire" means "to ask a job applicant in writing or otherwise."
• "Wages" means "all earnings of an employee," whether paid by time, task, piece or commission, "including fringe benefits, wage supplements, or other compensation." Bonus, commission, equity and benefits history are all wage history.

The only carve-out, section 9-1131(2)(b), covers actions taken under a federal, state or local law that "specifically authorizes the disclosure or verification of wage history for employment purposes." Our Pennsylvania salary history page covers the state picture around the city.

Why did enforcement wait until 2020?

The Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce sued on First Amendment grounds. The district court held the inquiry provision unconstitutional and enjoined it, but upheld the reliance provision because reliance did not involve speech. In Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce v. City of Philadelphia, Nos. 18-2175 and 18-2176 (opinion filed February 6, 2020), the Third Circuit applied the commercial-speech test from Central Hudson, affirmed as to the reliance provision, and vacated the injunction against the inquiry provision, finding the City's record "clearly sufficient" to withstand the challenge.

The Commission then issued Amended Regulation No. 7. Section 7.6 set September 1, 2020 as the enforcement date and says all interviews, applications, hiring decisions and policies must comply from that date.

Which employers and jobs does it cover?

• Employers. Regulation 7.1 uses the Fair Practices Ordinance definition: any person who "does business in the City of Philadelphia through employees or who employs one or more employees," including public agencies, Commonwealth instrumentalities and the City. For section 9-1131 the employer must also be interviewing a prospective employee "with the intention of considering such Prospective Employee for a position located within the City."
• Employment agencies. The Commission's FAQ defines them as anyone "regularly undertaking with or without compensation to procure opportunities to work or to procure, recruit, refer or place employee(s)." Search firms, staffing firms and RPO providers fit, and individual recruiters are covered as an "employee or agent."
• Jobs located in Philadelphia. The FAQ says "it does not matter where the employer is headquartered or where the interview occurs." There is no bright-line test; relevant factors include how much time the employee will spend in the city, whether they keep an office or workstation there, and their contacts there, such as customers, projects or transactions.
• Internal moves. Under Regulation 7.2(a), a current employee seeking a new Philadelphia position may not be asked about pay from previous employers; pay with the current employer is outside the rule.
• Acquisitions. The FAQ says a target company's employees generally are not prospective employees during due diligence, but the ordinance applies if they are asked to apply or reapply for Philadelphia positions.

Examples of applying the factors (our reading, not Commission rulings): a hybrid role based at a Center City office three days a week has strong ties and should be treated as covered; a remote role for someone living and working in Philadelphia has a workstation in the city and is safer treated as covered; a remote role for a New Jersey resident with no Philadelphia clients has weak ties, but New Jersey's own ban then applies (see New Jersey's salary history ban).

What can you ask, and what is off limits?

When can you rely on pay a candidate volunteers?

Only when the disclosure was knowing and willing. Regulation 7.3 defines that as "an action taken voluntarily, with an understanding of the nature and quality of the act," with no prohibited question asked and no prompting. A disclosure is unprompted only if the employer "has not encouraged the disclosure based on the overall context and the Employer's words or actions"; the FAQ phrases it as whether "a reasonable job applicant would not think that the employer encouraged the disclosure," and quotes the Third Circuit that an employer cannot "goad or cajole" a candidate into it. Regulation 7.5 puts the burden on the candidate to prove a violation by a preponderance of the evidence, and the Commission looks at the interactions, their overall context and the employer's other compliance conduct.

Unlike some state laws, section 9-1131 does not limit a volunteered figure to raising an offer; once the disclosure is knowing and willing, the reliance ban does not apply. The hard part is proving it was unprompted. Examples of prompting (our illustrations): pausing after "and where are you now?", asking whether a range is "in line with your current package," or telling a candidate that sharing current pay "helps me get you the best offer."

How are complaints handled, and what can the Commission order?

1. File within 300 days. Section 9-1112(3) bars any complaint filed more than 300 days after the practice. A person who filed the same grievance with the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission cannot also file it with the city (section 9-1112(4)).
2. Investigation and conciliation follow the Fair Practices Ordinance procedure.
3. Commission remedies under section 9-1105(1): a cease-and-desist order; injunctive relief, including hiring, reinstating or upgrading "with or without back pay"; compensatory damages; punitive damages "not to exceed two thousand dollars ($2,000) per violation"; reasonable attorneys' fees; and hearing costs.
4. Fines. Section 9-1121 adds a fine of up to $2,000 per violation, and repeat violations can bring a fine of up to $2,000, up to 90 days' imprisonment, or both.
5. Court. If within one year the Commission dismisses the complaint or no conciliation agreement is reached, the person may sue in the Court of Common Pleas within two years of the closing notice, under section 9-1122 as amended by Bill No. 240060 (signed September 4, 2024), with compensatory and punitive damages, fees, costs and injunctive relief available.

Section 9-1103(1)(i), added by the same 2016 bill, makes it unlawful not to post any fair practices notice the Commission designates for posting. The Commission publishes a Wage Equity Ordinance poster (released March 4, 2022). Its suggested best practices, which it says are not required, are to set ranges, train interviewers, update written policies, not seek pay from former employers or public records, tell background screening vendors to exclude salary, and isolate any pay figures received by accident.

How does it sit with Pennsylvania and federal law?

There is no statewide ban to compare or preempt it: Pennsylvania's House Bill 630 passed the House in May 2025 and, as of November 2026, the General Assembly's record still shows it in the Senate Labor and Industry Committee since May 16, 2025. Federally, the EEOC's Compliance Manual says "Prior salary cannot, by itself, justify a compensation disparity" under the Equal Pay Act, so a Philadelphia offer built on a range rather than past pay is also the safer equal-pay record. Philadelphia does not require pay ranges in job ads; see Pennsylvania pay transparency. The same Fair Practices Ordinance also limits employment credit checks; see credit check laws for employers.

What should recruiters and staffing agencies do for Philadelphia jobs?

• Intake: ask the client for the range and decide whether the job is located in Philadelphia using the factors above. If in doubt, treat it as covered.
• Forms and ATS: remove salary history fields from applications, screening questionnaires and candidate profiles used for Philadelphia jobs, not just hide them.
• Calls: ask about expectations, competing offers and measurable results; never current or past pay, and never whether the expectation tracks current pay.
• References and checks: keep pay off reference calls and tell screening vendors to exclude it.
• Submittals: pass on the candidate's expectation and any competing offer, not their pay history, even if the client asks; see the candidate submittal template.
• Training: the agency, the client and each individual recruiter can each be the "employer, employment agency, or employee or agent" the section names.

Philadelphia jobs carry other city screening rules on the same calls; see our Philadelphia ban-the-box guide.

A copy-ready Philadelphia pay conversation script

Opening the topic: "This role pays [$range] plus [benefits]. What are you looking for in your next role?"
Following up: "Are you weighing any other offers, and roughly what are they?"
If the candidate asks whether you need their current pay: "No. For Philadelphia jobs we don't ask about current or past pay, and the offer is set from the range and the role."
If the candidate starts to share it: "You don't need to tell me that. What number would make this move worth it for you?"
If the client asks: "The job is in Philadelphia, so we can't ask for or pass on pay history. She is looking for [$X] and has a competing offer at [$Y]."

More wording is in salary expectation questions and how recruiters answer candidate salary questions; the national picture is in salary history bans by state.

Philadelphia salary history rules at a glance