1.25.17

Suggested lead:  A bill under consideration in Olympia could make job interviews a little less excruciating for applicants hoping to take a step up the economic ladder.  Dan Frizzell has that story.

Wrap (:65 total): We’ve all experienced it:  That moment in a job interview when you’re asked how much you made at your last job.  For many applicants, answering the question honestly can set the stage for a low-ball offer and another low-paying job.  Several lawmakers in Olympia want to ban the practice and encourage employers to offer salaries based on the applicant’s potential value to the company, not the size of their former paycheck.  Representative Laurie Dolan is lead sponsor on the bill.

DOLAN: “What happens oftentimes is, typically women but men as well, step out of the workplace to raise a child and it’s really unfair to peg their new salary to the old salary they had when they stepped out of the workforce.  Oftentimes employers take that what did you used to make and just add an ever-so-little addition to it and so the person gets further and further behind an equitable wage.” [:24]

Dolan, a Democrat from Olympia, should find out soon if her salary-history bill has the potential to become a new law.  The House Labor and Workforce Standards Committee is set to vote Monday on whether to send it on for a vote of the full House.  In Olympia, I’m Dan Frizzell.