I think recruiters would be covered under the "through an agent" part, especially as most/all are compensated by the employer.
When asked about salary I say that I consider my previous/current employer's salary information to be proprietary & confidential information and I would be violating the agreement I signed when I joined that company to keep such information private, by revealing it.
I basically present it as an ethical issue, and effectively say, "I feel I would be doing something unethical by revealing that information. You're not going to ask me to do something I consider unethical, are you?"
Of course, if they say yes, that tells me something else entirely too, and also something I'd like to know before I start working somewhere.
"When asked about salary I say that I consider my previous/current employer's salary information to be proprietary & confidential information and I would be violating the agreement I signed when I joined that company to keep such information private, by revealing it."
Such agreements are not allowed in California. It would be illegal and unethical for a company to ask you to sign it.
Source? Noncompetes are disallowed in CA, and federal (and probably state) law prohibits a ban on employees sharing salary information amongst themselves. But AFAIK there is no direct prohibition on a contractual obligation not to disclose salary to a third party. You could of course be cute and merely disclose 1040 income or somesuch.
When asked about salary I say that I consider my previous/current employer's salary information to be proprietary & confidential information and I would be violating the agreement I signed when I joined that company to keep such information private, by revealing it.
I basically present it as an ethical issue, and effectively say, "I feel I would be doing something unethical by revealing that information. You're not going to ask me to do something I consider unethical, are you?"
Of course, if they say yes, that tells me something else entirely too, and also something I'd like to know before I start working somewhere.