What is pay transparency?

Pay transparency refers to laws/policies that require employers to disclose information about compensation, commonly salary or wage ranges, in job postings, for internal promotions/transfers, or to current employees. It also often includes bans on inquiring about a job applicant's salary history.

Do salary history bans form part of pay transparency laws?

Yes. Many US jurisdictions’ transparency laws include or are paired with bans on asking about an applicant’s past salary. This is to avoid perpetuating pay inequities via history.

Which US states/localities have pay transparency or salary range disclosure requirements?

Several. For example: California, New York, Washington, Rhode Island, Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Illinois, etc. Each state/local law differs in scope, what must be disclosed, and which employers are covered.

When must pay ranges be included in job postings under these laws?

It depends on the law. Some require disclosure in all external job postings; sometimes, internal promotions or transfers are also covered. Many laws also cover remote positions if part of the work is connected to the jurisdiction.

Do these compensation laws apply to remote work?

Many of them do. If a role is remote but reports to a supervisor or office in a jurisdiction with pay transparency law, or if the work will be performed partly in that jurisdiction, disclosure requirements often apply.

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