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Updates To Mass. Equal Pay Law Go Into Effect This Weekend

Starting Sunday, businesses in Massachusetts can no longer ask prospective employees how much they made at previous jobs before making a job offer.

It's part of an update to Massachusetts' equal pay law passed by lawmakers almost two years ago. It also prevents companies from banning workers from discussing salaries with each other.

Christopher Geehern, with the Associated Industries of Massachusetts, says the goal is to prevent systemic bias from continuing.

"The idea really is to evaluate people based on their qualifications and their experience rather than on a pay scale that may or may not reflect some sort of embedded bias based on gender," he said.

The law also gives companies legal protection against discrimination cases, if they've conducted a self-review of salary disparities within the last three years.

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