- Six states and Washington D.C. require employers to include information about pay in job ads, with laws in four more states taking effect in 2025.
- Pay transparency can reduce pay gaps that decrease earnings for women and people of color, and empowers all workers going into salary negotiation.
- As an employee or job applicant, you can benefit from a state’s wage transparency law even if you live someplace else.
In recent years, ten states and Washington D.C. have enacted laws that combat gender and other historical pay gaps, and make the hiring process fairer for job applicants, by requiring employers to include pay information in job postings.
The specifics vary by state, but in general, they say an employer must provide at least one of these key pieces of salary information:
- The minimum and maximum it’s willing to pay for the position, or
- How much the role pays
Some laws also require information about benefits and other forms of compensation.
Requiring employers to disclose pay information up front can help ensure that someone who has been a victim of a discriminatory pay gap at a previous job won’t continue to experience a disparity in a new job, which can happen if employers consider an applicant’s previous earnings when setting their compensation in a new role. Some states and cities have passed laws that prohibit asking an applicant what they made in prior jobs.
Providing pay information up front equips job applicants with transparent information that could impact their decision to apply for a job or negotiate for a higher salary. Pay transparency is especially beneficial for women, as research shows that women tend to negotiate salaries less frequently than men—and when they do, women win smaller gains. But attempting to negotiate can backfire because women who do so are more likely to be perceived as demanding by their potential employer.
The impacts of salary negotiation can be huge. Research has shown that job applicants who don’t negotiate their initial salary put themselves on track to lose more than $500,000 by the time they reach age 60. Pay transparency won’t end these disparities altogether, but it’s a step in the right direction toward empowering workers.
So far, the following states require pay information in job ads:
In 2025, more state laws are scheduled to take effect:
- Illinois (Jan. 1)
- Minnesota (Jan. 1)
- Vermont (July 1)
- Massachusetts (July 31)
And three states require employers to tell an applicant how much a position pays during the hiring process:
Even if you don’t live in a state with pay transparency requirements, the law may still apply if the job is based in one of the states that does.
Washington’s law, for example, applies to positions that could be filled by a Washington-based employee (including applicants who would relocate to Washington). An employer can’t sidestep the law by simply stating it won’t accept Washington-based applicants.
And New York’s law applies to positions that will report to a supervisor or office that’s located in the state, no matter where the position itself is based. That means a New York-based employer has to include pay information for work-from-anywhere positions as well as jobs that will be in the Empire State.
When employers don’t share pay information, they keep employees and job applicants in the dark and may hurt their ability to earn what they deserve. If you have concerns about potential pay issues, contact us for a confidential consultation.
