Court lifts injunction blocking Philly law against salary history questions

Recently, a three-judge panel for the U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals (whose rulings apply to all Pennsylvania employers) reversed the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania's decision that a city of Philadelphia ordinance barring employers from asking prospective employees about their wage history could not block such inquiries without violating the First Amendment. The appeals court found the city's reasons for restricting the speech were sufficient to warrant the law. Further, it affirmed the decision to the extent the district court held the ordinance lawfully forbid employers from relying on wage history in the setting or negotiating of prospective employees' wages. The district court held the latter constitutional because barring reliance on (as opposed to inquiry about) wage history didn't implicate protected speech.

Facts

The case arose following the city of Philadelphia's decision in 2017 to pass an ordinance to target the inequality in the pay of women and minorities, informally referred to as the "pay gap." The ordinance was comprised of two chief provisions, both aimed at attacking the pay gap. First, the "inquiry" provision barred employers from inquiring into a prospective employee's wage history. Second, the "reliance" provision barred employers from relying on wage history as they undertook to set or negotiate a prospective employee's wage.