Key takeaways
- A growing list of states and cities require pay ranges in job postings or on request.
- Rules differ on employer size, what counts as a posting, and whether remote jobs are covered.
- The safest approach for multi-state employers is to include a good-faith range in every posting.
- Many states also ban asking candidates about salary history.
- Ontario and British Columbia have their own posting rules, which matters for North American hiring.
Pay transparency laws require employers to disclose pay ranges, either in job postings or when a candidate or employee asks. Many also prohibit retaliation against employees who discuss pay and ban questions about a candidate's salary history.
A recruiter posts a remote customer success role on a Monday. By Wednesday, a candidate in Washington has emailed asking why the posting has no salary range, and a colleague forwards an article about class actions under Washington's law. The company is headquartered in Texas, has no office in Washington, and assumed the law didn't apply.
For a remote role that a Washington resident can apply for, that assumption is risky. Pay transparency laws have spread quickly, and many are written to reach remote jobs. This guide covers the major laws in force, how they differ, and a single process that keeps you compliant wherever you hire.
Why these laws exist and why they keep spreading
Pay transparency laws aim to narrow unexplained pay gaps, particularly by gender and race, by making pay information visible before salary negotiations begin. They also respond to the practical reality that candidates increasingly expect to see pay up front.
Since Colorado's law took effect in 2021, a steady stream of states and cities have adopted similar rules. For employers, the trend is clear enough that many now treat ranges in every posting as the default, regardless of where the role is based.
Major state laws requiring ranges in job postings
The table below covers the major state laws requiring pay ranges in postings. Thresholds and details change, so confirm current rules with each state's labor department before relying on it.
| State | In effect | Employers covered |
|---|---|---|
| Colorado | 2021 | All employers with at least one employee in Colorado |
| California | 2023 | 15 or more employees |
| Washington | 2023 | 15 or more employees |
| New York | 2023 | 4 or more employees |
| Hawaii | 2024 | 50 or more employees |
| District of Columbia | 2024 | Employers of all sizes |
| Maryland | 2024 | Employers of all sizes |
| Illinois | 2025 | 15 or more employees |
| Minnesota | 2025 | 30 or more employees |
| New Jersey | 2025 | 10 or more employees |
| Vermont | 2025 | 5 or more employees |
| Massachusetts | 2025 | 25 or more employees |
Several cities, including New York City and Jersey City, have their own rules, and more jurisdictions have passed laws taking effect later. Other states, such as Connecticut, Nevada, and Rhode Island, require disclosure on request or at certain stages of hiring rather than in every posting.
How the laws differ
The headline requirement is similar, but the details vary in ways that matter:
- What must be disclosed. Most require a good-faith salary or hourly range. Some also require a general description of benefits and other compensation, such as bonuses or commissions.
- What counts as a posting. Internal promotion opportunities, recruiter postings, and third-party job boards may all be covered.
- Remote jobs. Several laws apply to remote roles that could be performed in the state, even if the employer has no presence there.
- Penalties and private lawsuits. Some laws are enforced only by the state agency. Others, like Washington's, have allowed applicants to sue, which led to a wave of litigation.
- Record keeping. Some require employers to keep records of job title and pay history.
What a good-faith range looks like
Most laws require the range you genuinely expect to pay when you post the job. A range of $40,000 to $200,000 for a mid-level role is unlikely to be considered good faith. Neither is a range you never intend to use.
The easiest way to produce defensible ranges is to have a pay structure. If you have salary bands, you can post the band, or the part of the band you expect to hire into, for every role. Our salary band guide shows how to build one.
Salary history bans
Many states and cities prohibit employers from asking candidates about their pay history, and some prohibit using it to set pay even if the candidate volunteers it. The idea is that basing new pay on past pay carries forward old inequities.
A simple practice works everywhere: ask candidates about their pay expectations, not their pay history. Train recruiters and hiring managers on this, and remove salary history fields from application forms.
Pay discussions and current employees
The National Labor Relations Act protects most private sector employees' rights to discuss wages with each other, and many state laws add further protections. Policies that forbid employees from sharing their pay are generally unlawful. Some state transparency laws also require employers to share pay ranges with current employees, for example when they apply for an internal role or ask about their own position's range.
Expect more pay questions from employees once ranges are public. Managers need to be ready to explain where someone sits in their range and why.
Canadian rules for North American employers
If you hire in Canada, provincial laws matter too. British Columbia's Pay Transparency Act requires employers to include an expected pay range in public job postings. Ontario's rules, which took effect on January 1, 2026, require employers with 25 or more employees to include the expected compensation or a range in publicly advertised postings, with limits on how wide the range can be. Quebec has its own pay equity framework.
US companies hiring through an employer of record in Canada should confirm who is responsible for compliant postings.
What a compliant posting looks like
A compliant posting is usually short. Here is a pattern that works under most state laws:
Pay range: $72,000 to $86,000 per year. Final pay depends on skills and experience. This role is eligible for an annual bonus and our benefits, which include medical, dental, and vision coverage, a 401(k) with company match, and paid time off.
For hourly roles, use an hourly range. For commission roles, state the base range and say that commission applies, and some jurisdictions expect a description of how commission works. Avoid open-ended ranges like "$70,000 and up," which many laws treat as non-compliant. If the role is remote and open to candidates anywhere, use the range you would actually pay, or list ranges by location tier if your pay varies by geography.
Internal postings and promotions
Several laws cover internal opportunities, not just external job ads. Some require you to disclose ranges for promotions and transfers, and a few require you to notify employees of promotion opportunities before or soon after a decision is made. The safest habit is to treat internal postings exactly like external ones: same range, same benefits language, same records.
Where companies get into trouble
Most enforcement and litigation has focused on a few patterns. Postings with no range at all, often placed by third-party recruiters or reposted on job aggregators without the range. Ranges so wide that they say nothing. Remote postings that assumed a state's law didn't apply because the company had no office there. And postings that stayed live for months after the range changed.
A quarterly audit of your live postings, including those on aggregator sites, catches most of these before an applicant or regulator does. It takes about an hour for a company with a few dozen open roles.
A compliance process that works everywhere
- Build salary bands for every role, so ranges come from a documented structure.
- Include a good-faith range in every external and internal posting, regardless of location, unless you have a specific reason not to.
- Add a short description of benefits and other compensation, such as bonus or commission eligibility.
- Make sure recruiters and staffing agencies posting on your behalf include the same information.
- Remove salary history questions from applications and interview guides.
- Keep records of postings and the ranges used.
- Review the list of applicable laws at least twice a year.
Applicant tracking systems can enforce ranges on every posting automatically. See our ATS buyer guide and compensation software guide.
Pay transparency compliance checklist
Work through this list with your team. The printable PDF version has space to tick each item off.
- List every state and city where you hire, including for remote roles
- Check each jurisdiction's posting rules and employer size threshold
- Build or update salary bands for every role
- Include a good-faith range in every posting
- Add a description of benefits and other compensation where required
- Confirm recruiters and agencies include ranges
- Remove salary history questions from applications and interviews
- Train hiring managers on pay expectation questions
- Remove any policy restricting employees from discussing pay
- Prepare managers to explain ranges to current employees
- Keep records of postings and ranges
- Check Canadian provincial rules if you hire in Canada
- Review applicable laws at least twice a year
Where to go from here
Wherever you are in the process, there is a next step that fits.
Keep reading
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Email templates for this topic
Ready-to-edit emails with subject lines, compliance notes, and a free PDF.
- Interview invitation email templateInvite a candidate to interview with every detail they need: format, time, people, and how to prepare.
- Internal job posting announcement email templateTell employees about an open role first, with who can apply, how, and what happens to their current job.
- Merit cycle kickoff email to managers templateLaunch the annual compensation review with budgets, guidelines, deadlines, and pay equity checks.
- Job offer email templatePut a verbal offer in writing with pay, start date, contingencies, and a clear deadline to respond.
Frequently asked questions
Which states require salary ranges in job postings?
Do pay transparency laws apply to remote jobs?
What is a good-faith salary range?
Can employers ask about salary history?
Can employees discuss their pay with coworkers?
Sources
We checked the facts in this guide against these primary sources. Laws and thresholds change, so confirm current rules before you act.
- Colorado Department of Labor and Employment: Equal Pay for Equal Work Act
- California Civil Rights Department: Pay transparency
- Washington Department of Labor and Industries: Pay transparency
- New York State Department of Labor: Pay transparency
- National Labor Relations Board: Employee rights
- Government of Ontario: Working for Workers Acts
Written by the HRTally Research Team
Our guides are written and reviewed by people with hands-on US HR, payroll, and HR technology experience. Legal and tax facts are checked against primary sources, such as the Department of Labor, IRS, EEOC, and USCIS, and linked at the end of each guide. Vendors never review or pay for our editorial content.