I hate this question, but I agree with you that it’s not something the government should make a rule against.

Try asking for what you think you’re worth. If they company won’t pay it, find another company.

Seriously.

A fair number of companies will try to get away with paying as little as possible. Many times they’re just calling your bluff. If you don’t demand a certain wage, why should the company say “Well, you didn’t ask for enough so we’re going to pay you as much as the [insert privileged class here].”?

But then it’s the government to the rescue, right? Ugh. It’s not the governments place to meddle in private contracts (although they do all the time). Their job is to enforce them. Oh sorry, I forgot we’re now in an age where people want bureaucrats to intervene on everything for some perceived leveling of the playing field.

Careful what you wish for.

It is so nice to be in a position where I can ask what the job pays rather than having to suck up and take whatever they are offering. You are right – there are things that are worth more than money (once you are at a certain salary), but that’s up to me to decide, not the employer. Tell me what the job pays and I will decide if I want to talk to you.

I have talked to two recruiters in the past months. They have called me, not the other way around. I work with engineers now (and love being the stupidest person in my group) and have a fabulous boss. It would take a lot of money to make me leave.

3. And the job should pay what the job is worth. The worth of the job has absolutely nothing to do with what the person performing the job earned at her last position. Nothing. Using previous salary is just laziness on the part of the employer.

someone who (presumably) used their past salary to get a salary that is inflated compared to their actual output at their job

1. I am all for people getting the highest salary they can.
2. If someone is not performing, that is not a salary issue, it is a management issue. If the manager doesn’t have the guts to deal with it, it’s on her.

Money is tangible, sometimes there are other things not easily quantified in a job or job offer. Perhaps there’s an easier commute, better flex time, better coworkers, new job is in a state with lower/no income tax.

Sometimes it isn’t about the money.
I started pushing back a long time ago on this question during interviews. I’d pretend I didn’t hear it ask, eventually it would get asked again. I’d respond with, “You have a salary range in mind for these requirements, I obviously at least meet them or we shouldn’t be talking, so just make me what you think is a fair offer”. I wish I had taken pictures of the reactions, you would’ve thought I bit the head off a live chicken.
“We need your salary requirements because we don’t want to offend you with a really low offer” was the answer I typically got. To which I usually chuckled and said “If you think you are making a fair offer, why should I be offended? If it’s unrealistically low, I’ll tell you that”.

Worst offer I ever got was a lateral salary-wise. Work, coworkers, all the intangibles more than made up for it. But that’s all just me, I decided a long time ago that money was not a driving force in my career, learning and doing things I find interesting would be.

Totally agree with you.

Thanks! Fixed.

That’s horrible, especially since it probably only saves a few thousand dollars. I am not contesting it happens or saying my scenarios were more likely, but I have seen it work in the opposite direction. But that was/is more at smaller companies hiring from larger ones, and they don’t feel they are good at setting wages without any internal benchmarks. Some people used that to their advantage to come in at higher salaries than they might get at a larger company.

But now that I think about it, for every person whose used their past salary history to advocate for themselves and get a fair salary, I can think of someone who (presumably) used their past salary to get a salary that is inflated compared to their actual output at their job. It seems like a no win situation.