9 places where people may never have to answer the dreaded salary question again

• Cities, states, and territories around the US are banning salary history inquiries.

• Some laws just ban public employers from asking about a job candidate's pay history, while others ban all employers.

• The trend is part of an effort to eliminate the gender wage gap.

If there's one thing job seekers hate, it's the dreaded salary question: "How much did you make in your last job?"

Interviewees just can't win when it comes to this inquiry.

Answer honestly, and you might get low-balled when it comes to your starting salary. Fudge your past earnings, and you risk getting caught in a lie and terminated.

While there are ways to dodge or respond to the salary query artfully, some localities are downright banning the question altogether.

The recent trend is all part of a push to fight wage discrimination and the gender pay gap. As Business Insider previously reported, women earn 79 cents for every dollar men earn. The theory is that salary history questions can inadvertently cause these inequalities to snowball over time.

Here are the cities and states where the salary question is banned or set to be banned in the near future, in some capacity:

Anaele Pelisson/Business Insider

You won't have to answer questions about your previous salary in these cities and states.

• California has banned private and public employers from asking about a candidate's pay history. The law will take effect in January 2018, according to HRDive.com.
• Delaware banned all employers from asking candidates about their salary history. The law will take effect in December 2017, according to Duane Morris.
• Massachusetts prohibited all employers from inquiring about a candidate's pay history. This law will go into effect in July 2018, according to Mass.gov.
• New Orleans banned inquiries about all city departments and employees of contractors who work for the city. The rule is already in effect, but, in this case, it only impacts individuals who are interviewing to work for the city of New Orleans, according to WDSU.
• New York City has banned public and private employees from asking about a candidate's pay history. The law goes into effect October 31, 2017, Business Insider previously reported.
• Oregon has banned all employers for inquiring about a candidate's salary history. The law goes into effect January 2019, according to Jackson Lewis.
• Philadelphia banned the salary history question for all employers. The rule was supposed to take effect May 23, but a judge halted it temporarily due to a lawsuit from the Chamber of Commerce, according to NBC.
• Pittsburgh banned city agencies from asking about candidates' pay history. The rule is effective immediately, but only effects city employees, SHRM reported.
• Puerto Rico banned employers from inquiring about a candidate's pay history. The law will go into effect March 2018, according to Jackson Lewis.