City Council proposes ban on employers' inquiries about pay history

• Cleveland's median family income is just under $49,000, one of the lowest in the state.

What they're saying: "Pay equity and transparency is a natural outgrowth of those policies," Charles Slife, one of the bill's co-sponsors, said at a press conference.

• The legislation is "a way to ensure that people in Cleveland who are statistically from low-income backgrounds can have jobs that pay them fairly."

Zoom in: The legislation would also compel employers to post salary ranges in job postings.

• They could face fines of up to $5,000 for failing to comply.

The big picture: Many states have adopted versions of pay equity legislation, but not Ohio.

• Some cities, including Columbus, have adopted their own.

Flashback: Councilwoman Stephanie Howse-Jones, another bill co-sponsor, said that as a state lawmaker, one of the first pieces of legislation she introduced called on Ohio to create a "gender pay task force."

• "We often look at this as a woman's issue, but this is really about families," she said. "Too often we hear about Cleveland on the wrong side of economic equality. Our job as legislators is to do something about it."