HB331 Alabama 2023 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Adline ClarkeRepresentative

Democrat

Session

Regular Session 2023

Title

Relating to employment, to amend Section 25-1-30, Code of Alabama 1975, to prohibit an employer from requesting the wage history of a prospective employee except under certain circumstances.

Summary

HB331 would prohibit employers from asking job applicants for wage history and limit how wage history can be used, strengthening Alabama's equal pay protections.

What This Bill Does

It bars employers, including state and public subdivisions, from seeking or relying on a prospective employee's wage history to interview, hire, promote, or set pay. If a candidate voluntarily provides wage history without prompting, the employer may use it only to justify a higher wage if it would not create an unlawful pay differential, or to verify the history to support a higher offer. Violations can require back pay plus interest, and employers must follow federal record-keeping rules for wage records. The bill also establishes pleading requirements for claims, and sets a two-year window to file a civil action; it becomes effective on the first day of the third month after passage.

Who It Affects

• Prospective employees: cannot be asked for wage history and are protected from being penalized for not providing it.
• Employers (including state and political subdivisions): must not seek or use wage history to decide hiring or pay and face liability if they violate the rules; must maintain wage records per federal standards.

Key Provisions

• Names the Clarke-Figures Equal Pay Act and amends Section 25-1-30 to include wage history prohibitions.
• Prohibits seeking, relying on, or using wage history to hire or set pay for a prospective employee, with limited voluntary disclosure exceptions.
• If wage history is voluntarily disclosed without prompting, allows use only to support a higher wage if no unlawful pay differential, or to confirm history to support a higher offer.
• Defines wage history as wages paid by the applicant's current or former employer.
• Creates liability for back pay and interest for violations, and requires adherence to FLSA record-keeping rules.
• Imposes pleading requirements for claims and a two-year statute of limitations for action.
• Sets effective date as the first day of the third month after passage.

AI-generated summary using openai/gpt-5-nano on Feb 22, 2026. May contain errors — refer to the official bill text for accuracy.

Subjects

Employment, employer prohibited from seeking wage history of prospective employees.