Bill would ban salary‑history questions and require pay information in job postings, proponents say

Sen. Forrest Dunbar opened the committee’s first hearing on Senate Bill 78, a wage‑disclosure measure that would prohibit employers from asking applicants to provide salary history, require job postings to include compensation or a salary range, and bar retaliation for discussing wages.

Joelle Hall, president of the Alaska AFL‑CIO, testified in support, saying pay transparency advances pay fairness and particularly benefits women and people of color. Staff to Sen. Dunbar, Ariel Harbison, provided a section‑by‑section review: the bill adds a disclosure article to AS 23.10, requires posting a compensation summary, clarifies that employees are not required to disclose compensation, protects employees from retaliation, creates a civil damages remedy with a three‑year statute of limitations, and directs the Department of Labor and Workforce Development commissioner to adopt implementing regulations. The transcript lists a penalty provision described as a fine up to "$102,000" with the department instructed to determine amounts; that figure was presented in staff remarks and not further detailed in committee testimony.

After invited testimony and staff analysis, the committee set SB 78 aside for further consideration at a later meeting.