The civic record
Read. Follow. Verify.West Virginia bill requires employers to share wage ranges with job applicants and prohibits salary history inquiries
Last action · February 3, 2026: To House JudiciarySponsor: Kayla Young
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What This Bill Proposed
West Virginia House Bill 5116 establishes the Katherine Johnson and Dorothy Vaughan Fair Pay Act, requiring employers to provide wage and benefit ranges to job applicants upon request and banning retaliation against applicants who refuse to disclose past salary history. The measure also permits employees to discuss their wages and provides a legal cause of action for violations.
Job applicants gain the right to know compensation ranges before accepting positions, and current workers can legally discuss pay rates without fear of retaliation or forced non-disclosure waivers, with affected individuals gaining access to compensatory damages and legal relief through the courts.
- Katherine Johnson and Dorothy Vaughan were pioneering Black mathematicians whose orbital mechanics calculations were critical to NASA's early manned spaceflights and were featured in the book and film 'Hidden Figures'. context
Who It Would Have Affected
Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Job applicants
Applicants gain the right to request compensation ranges and refuse to disclose past wage history without facing employment discrimination.
Employees
Workers gain protected rights to discuss compensation with peers, refuse wage secrecy waivers, and take legal action against retaliation.
Employers
Employers must disclose wage ranges upon request, alter hiring inquiries regarding salary history, and face potential civil lawsuits for non-compliance.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a prospective employer ask about my previous salary during a job interview in West Virginia?
Am I allowed to discuss my salary with my coworkers under this bill?
What legal remedies are available if an employer violates these pay transparency rules?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
Follow the record
Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Died at adjournment · in House committee.
Procedural history
4 actions- Feb 3, 2026HouseCommitteeTo House Judiciary
- Feb 3, 2026HouseIntroducedIntroduced in House
- Feb 3, 2026HouseCommitteeTo Judiciary
- Feb 3, 2026HouseIntroducedFiled for introduction
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Introduction of Wage Range Disclosures
The bill shifts West Virginia employment standards by mandating salary range disclosures upon request and outlawing forced wage secrecy waivers.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.wvlegislature.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 65)
- Controversy50Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz35Current news / social attention level
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