Job seekers listen up: A new law that went into effect Monday will change the interview process for both public and private employers across New York.

The question of how much job seekers make at their current jobs or made at their previous job are off-limits for employers to ask during a job interview.

State Sen. David Carlucci, who proposed the law, says it will help close the wage gap, where women make only 80 cents for every dollar a man makes.

"What happens in the interview process is employers ask ... what can we pay this person? Not what is the value that they will bring to the company," says Carlucci.

And asking that question keeps women perpetually stuck at a lower pay grade, according to grassroots organizations who helped fight for the bill.

But lawmakers and other supporters like union members say the law will help both men and women because it prevents employers from just hiring the cheapest candidate and forces them to instead hire based on experience.

"There has been a wage fight against the middle class for years. And unions are shrinking," says Dan Capara, of CWA Local 1107. "They're down to 8% of the private sector."

Sixteen other states and Washington, D.C. have already passed laws banning employers from asking about salary history. Federal lawmakers are also considering national legislation that would do the same.