Pay transparency laws by state

Employers in a growing number of states and cities must include a good-faith pay range in job postings, usually once they pass a headcount threshold and the job could be filled in that location, including remotely. This guide lists the jurisdictions we verified, summarizes what changed recently, explains the tricky parts and gives you a posting template.

Important: this is general information, not legal advice. Pay transparency laws are changing fast, and details such as thresholds, definitions and penalties differ by place. We last checked this guide in November 2026. Always double-check the rules for every location where you hire with your state or city labor department or an employment lawyer before you post.

Pay transparency laws by state

The table covers the jurisdictions we could confirm from official or statutory sources, plus Connecticut and Cleveland, which link to law-firm summaries because we could not open the statute text. “Posting” generally means a public job ad on your site or a job board, and in several places internal postings too. If your state is not listed, that does not mean it has no rule: some states only require a range on request or before an offer, and new laws take effect every year.

A few notes on reading the table:

• The in-effect dates are the dates the posting rule started. Several states amended their rules later, which the linked sources describe.
• Penalty cells give the amounts we could confirm. Where a cell says to check the department or only names the enforcing agency, we did not find a published figure and are not guessing.
• Counts differ by state. Some count every employee wherever they work (Washington, Illinois, California), others only employees in the state or city, so read the threshold on the linked page.
• Trackers count these laws differently, depending on whether they include on-request rules and laws not yet in effect, so do not rely on a single headline number. For a running update, see Jackson Lewis’s mid-year review and Cooley’s overview of new state laws.

What changed recently

The newest laws and amendments, most recent first:

• Connecticut, October 1, 2026. Public Act 26-12 (H.B. 5003) requires all employers, regardless of size, to include the wage or wage range and a general description of benefits in public and internal postings. It replaces the older rule that only required a range on request or before an offer, and the range must now be one the employer sets in good faith (Foley, Seyfarth).
• Maine, July 29, 2026. Employers with 10 or more employees must include the anticipated pay range in postings.
• Virginia, July 1, 2026. Pay or a pay range is required in public and internal postings, alongside a salary history ban.
• California, January 1, 2026. The definition of pay scale was tightened to the range you reasonably expect to pay on hire.
• Massachusetts, October 29, 2025. Employers with 25 or more employees must give a good-faith range, including for promotions and transfers.
• Cleveland, October 27, 2025. A local ordinance covers employers with 15 or more employees in the city (Greenberg Traurig).
• Delaware, September 26, 2027. Not yet in effect, but worth planning for if you hire there.

City and county rules

Some cities and counties add their own pay range rules on top of state law. Cleveland (employers with 15 or more employees in the city) and Jersey City (five or more employees) are examples, and Columbus expanded its pay equity ordinance in November 2025. Others, such as Albany County and Ithaca in New York, have rules too, and the details change. Check the city and county where the role is based, and see Brightmine’s tracker for a starting list.

Pay transparency outside the United States

If you hire internationally, check these too. All of the details below come from law-firm and government summaries, so confirm each one locally.

What counts as a job posting

Most laws cover any public ad that solicits applicants for a specific job, on your careers page or through a third party. Several also reach internal postings. Washington defines a posting as a solicitation for a specific open position that includes desired qualifications, electronic or printed, placed directly or through a third party. Copies published without your consent are excluded.

Many of these laws do not require you to post a job at all. They apply when you do. If you advertise externally, treat the ad as covered unless your state’s page says otherwise.

How remote roles work

If a remote role could be filled by someone in a covered state, assume the rule applies. Several states say so directly:

• California: the Labor Commissioner reads the rule to apply if the position may ever be filled in California, in person or remotely.
• Washington: applies to any posting a Washington-based employee could fill, and you cannot avoid it by saying you will not accept Washington applicants. Jobs performed entirely outside Washington are generally exempt.
• Colorado: the state’s guidance says a remote posting that excludes Colorado applicants is still not compliant, and that only the Colorado range is required for a multi-state posting.
• New York State and Vermont: cover remote roles that report to a supervisor, office or site in the state (Vermont excludes roles that predominantly serve out-of-state sites).

The practical approach: if you hire remotely across the US, put a range in every posting. When pay differs by location, list the range for each location and make sure the range for any covered state is clearly labeled.

How to set a good-faith pay range

Set it before you post, from real data, and use it when you make the offer.

1. Start from your internal pay band for the level and role. If you have none, build one from the people already in equivalent roles and your approved budget. Maine’s and Virginia’s laws name these inputs: an applicable pay scale, a previously set range, actual pay for people in equivalent roles, and the budgeted amount.
2. State both ends. New York City, New York State, Maryland, New Jersey, Minnesota and Vermont all call for a minimum and a maximum. Open-ended phrasing such as “$20+ per hour” or “up to $120,000” is a common cause of complaints. Maryland’s guidance also warns that extremely broad ranges, such as minimum wage to $100 an hour, are unlikely to comply.
3. Use the pay you expect to offer on hire. California defines the pay scale as the range you reasonably expect to pay upon hire, so do not post a range that only a senior hire reaches after years.
4. Keep equity and bonus separate from base pay unless you list them clearly. California, for one, does not require bonuses or other benefits in the pay scale, and states that require a description of benefits only want a general description.
5. Hire within the range. Vermont’s statute says outright that you may hire above or below the posted range, but a range you never use is hard to call good faith.

If you are still deciding what to pay, see our compensation strategy guide.

Internal postings and promotions

Often they count. Connecticut, Maryland, Virginia and Delaware cover internal postings. Massachusetts covers promotions and transfers. New Jersey requires reasonable efforts to tell eligible employees about promotion opportunities. Illinois requires telling current employees about external postings. Washington requires you to give an existing employee the pay range for a new position they are offered, on request. Add pay ranges to internal job boards and promotion notices too.

Penalties and how to fix a mistake

Penalties range from nothing for a corrected first offense to five figures per violation. Several places give you a short window to fix a posting after notice:

• New York City: no penalty for a first complaint if you show you fixed the violation within 30 days.
• Washington: for postings between July 27, 2025 and July 27, 2027, no penalties or damages if you correct the posting within five business days and ask any third-party site to correct it.
• Virginia: no action if you correct the posting within 15 business days of notice.

Where there is no cure period, a complaint can lead to fines and, in some states, damages claims by applicants. Colorado, California, Washington and Virginia allow civil fines or damages in the amounts shown in the table.

Job board rules

Job boards add their own rules on top of the law:

• Indeed says that in many US states pay transparency may be required, and in those places it may not display jobs without salary information. It accepts an exact amount, a range, a starting amount or a maximum, and warns that entries like “competitive pay” or “salary negotiable” may not display.
• LinkedIn extracts pay from the job description, so write it with the currency, full numbers and a pay period, such as “$110,000 - $125,000 per year”.

Employers remain responsible for compliance on every board. Check the pay formatting on each board after you post, and use the same range everywhere.

In Dover’s ATS, you can add a compensation range to a job, with currency, salary type (annual or hourly) and an optional equity range, and choose whether it shows on the posting. Turning on Show on job posting is what makes the range appear. Then post the job to 50+ job boards from one place, so every board gets the same range. See setting job details and Managing job boards. It is still your responsibility to confirm your postings meet your local rules.

A compliant job posting template

Copy this, replace the brackets, and check it against the rules for each state where the role could be filled:

[Job title], [full-time / part-time / contract]
Location: [city, state] / [Remote (US)] / [Hybrid, office in city, state]

Pay range: $[minimum] to $[maximum] per [year / hour]. This is our good-faith
range for this role at the time of posting. Where you land depends on [skills,
experience and location].

Other compensation: [equity range / bonus / commission, or "none"].

Benefits: [general description, for example health, dental and vision
insurance, retirement plan with employer match, paid time off, paid holidays,
parental leave].

Application deadline: [date, or "We expect to close applications on [date]"]
(required in Colorado).

[Role description, responsibilities and requirements]

Put the pay range in the body of the posting, not behind a link, and repeat the same range on every job board. If you operate in a state that requires a benefits description, keep it general, since most laws ask only for a general description.

Checklist before you post

1. List every state, city and country where the role could be filled, including remote.
2. Check each against the table and your labor department’s page.
3. Set a minimum and a maximum from your real pay band.
4. Include benefits and other compensation where the law asks for them.
5. Add the application close date if Colorado is in scope.
6. Post the same range on your careers page and on every board.
7. Update internal postings and promotion notices.
8. Keep a record of the range and the date you posted it.
9. Have your legal counsel or labor department confirm anything you are unsure about.

When to check with legal counsel

Use this guide to get oriented, then confirm the details before you rely on them. Talk to an employment lawyer or your state or city labor department when:

• You hire in several states, cities or countries, or across borders.
• You are near a headcount threshold, or your headcount changes during the year.
• A role mixes base pay, commission, equity and bonus, or pay differs by location.
• You get a complaint or notice about a posting.
• A law has just passed or changed. Effective dates, thresholds and penalties move, and agencies publish guidance after laws take effect.

Reminder: this guide is general information, not legal advice. We verified it against the sources linked above in November 2026, but some details came from law-firm summaries, and we cannot cover every locality. Always double-check with legal counsel or the relevant labor department before you post.

For help writing the rest of the posting without biased language, see our guide to de-biasing job descriptions, including its section on legal wording. If you also screen candidates with automated tools, read the NYC Local Law 144 guide, and when you reach the offer stage, see how to make an offer.

Frequently asked questions

Which states require salary ranges in job postings?

California, Colorado, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Vermont, Virginia and Washington require pay information in postings, and Delaware follows in September 2027. Thresholds and details differ, so check each state's rules, and note that cities such as Cleveland and Jersey City add their own.

What changed in pay transparency laws in 2026?

Virginia (July 1), Maine (July 29) and Connecticut (October 1, covering all employers) began requiring pay information in postings, California tightened its rule on January 1, and Ontario started requiring pay ranges for larger employers on January 1. Massachusetts and Cleveland took effect in late 2025. Confirm current rules with an employment lawyer.

Do I have to put a salary range in a job posting if I only hire remotely?

Often yes. California, Colorado, Washington, New York and Vermont all reach remote roles that could be filled by someone in the state, and several agencies say you cannot avoid the rule by excluding that state's applicants. If a remote role could be filled in a covered state, include a good-faith range.

What counts as a good-faith pay range?

The range you actually expect to pay for the role when you post it, based on your budget, your pay bands and what people in equivalent roles earn. Open-ended ranges such as '$80,000 and up' or '$20+ per hour' are rejected by several states, and very wide ranges invite complaints.

Can I be fined for a posting on a job board I did not write?

In several states you are responsible for postings you make or direct a third party to make, so give every board the same range. California, for example, requires you to give the pay scale to any third party that publishes your posting.

Do pay transparency laws apply outside the United States?

Yes. Ontario and British Columbia require pay information in many postings, and the EU Pay Transparency Directive requires pay information in job ads or before the first interview, with national laws still being finalized. Check the rules for every country where you hire.

Is this legal advice?

No. This guide is general information, last verified in November 2026. Laws, thresholds and agency guidance change often, so always confirm the rules for your location with your state labor department or an employment lawyer before you post.