Pay Transparency Laws by State: What Employers Need to Know in 2026

Pay transparency law is no longer a West Coast issue. As of 2026, sixteen states and Washington D.C. have enacted statewide wage transparency requirements, and the list continues to grow. New Jersey joined in mid-2025. Massachusetts expanded its requirements in late 2025. Delaware has legislation signed and taking effect in 2027. Several more states have bills in progress.

For HR teams managing multi-state workforces or hiring remote employees, the compliance picture has become genuinely complex. This article breaks down what each state requires, what has changed recently, and what you need to do to stay current.

The Landscape in 2026

Pay transparency laws fall into three general categories. Most states with active legislation include some combination of all three:

Salary range disclosure on job postings. The employer must include a pay range in any internal or external job posting. The range must reflect what the employer genuinely expects to pay, not a placeholder or artificially broad number.

Pay range disclosure upon request. The employer must provide salary range information to current employees upon request, particularly when being considered for a promotion or transfer.

Pay data reporting. The employer must submit aggregate compensation data to a state agency, broken down by job category and demographic group.

There is no federal pay transparency law in effect. The Salary Transparency Act introduced in Congress in 2023 remains pending. Until federal legislation passes, requirements vary by state and local jurisdiction.

States with Active Pay Transparency Requirements

California

Employer threshold: 15 or more employees for job posting disclosure; 100 or more employees for pay data reporting What is required: Salary range must be included in all internal and external job postings. Effective January 1, 2026, the range must reflect what the employer reasonably expects to pay upon hire, not a broad range of what the role might pay over time. Employers with 100 or more employees must submit annual pay data reports by job category, race, ethnicity, and sex. Penalties: Civil penalties of $100 to $10,000 per violation; first violation may be waived

Colorado

Employer threshold: All employers with at least one employee What is required: Salary range and benefits description must be included in all job postings. Employers must also notify current employees of internal promotion or transfer opportunities. Penalties: $500 to $10,000 per violation

Connecticut

Employer threshold: All employers What is required: Salary range must be disclosed in job postings and provided to employees upon request, including when being considered for a promotion or transfer.

Delaware

Employer threshold: All employers with one or more employees What is required: Law signed September 2025. Requires pay range and benefits disclosure in job postings. Effective date: September 26, 2027. Employers should begin updating templates and workflows now.

Hawaii

Employer threshold: 50 or more employees What is required: Hourly rate or salary range must be included in job postings and advertisements. Effective date: January 1, 2024

Illinois

Employer threshold: 15 or more employees What is required: Salary or hourly range and a general description of benefits must be included in job postings. Employers must notify employees of promotion opportunities no later than 14 calendar days after posting the position externally. Pay data reporting: Required for employers with 100 or more employees Penalties: Civil damages apply

Maine

Employer threshold: 10 or more employees What is required: Pay range must be disclosed in job postings, whether posted directly or through a third party.

Maryland

Employer threshold: All employers, regardless of size What is required: Wage range, a general description of benefits, and other compensation must be included in all internal and external job postings. If a role is not publicly posted, this information must be shared before compensation is discussed or upon request. Penalties: Written warning for first offense; fines up to $300 per applicant for a second offense within three years, increasing for subsequent violations

Massachusetts

Employer threshold: 25 or more employees What is required: Effective October 29, 2025, employers must include a good-faith pay range in all job postings, promotions, and transfers. Active enforcement began in 2026. Pay data reporting: Required for employers with 100 or more employees

Minnesota

Employer threshold: 30 or more employees What is required: Salary range must be included in job postings. Effective date: January 1, 2025

Nevada

Employer threshold: All employers What is required: Salary range must be provided to applicants upon request after an interview. Current employees must be provided the salary range for their position upon request and when applying for a promotion or transfer.

New Jersey

Employer threshold: 10 or more employees What is required: Effective June 1, 2025, employers must include a good-faith salary range and a general description of benefits in all job postings. Employers must also make reasonable efforts to notify current employees of promotional opportunities before filling them.

New York

Employer threshold: 4 or more employees What is required: Salary range must be included in all job postings for positions that can or will be performed in New York. New York City has additional local requirements.

Rhode Island

Employer threshold: All employers What is required: Pay range must be disclosed in job postings and provided to employees upon request when being considered for a promotion or transfer.

Washington

Employer threshold: 15 or more employees What is required: Salary range and a general description of benefits must be included in all job postings. A temporary cure period was added in 2025, allowing employers a short window to fix non-compliant postings after notice before penalties apply.

Washington D.C.

Employer threshold: All employers What is required: Pay range must be disclosed in job postings and provided upon request.

Local Requirements to Watch

Some states without statewide laws have local ordinances in specific cities. Ohio is the most notable example, with active pay transparency requirements in Cincinnati, Cleveland (effective October 27, 2025), Columbus, and Toledo. Employers hiring in these cities are subject to local requirements regardless of state law.

What Has Changed Recently

Several significant updates took effect in late 2025 and early 2026:

California (SB 642, effective January 1, 2026) tightened its definition of pay scale to require ranges that reflect actual expected compensation upon hire. Broad placeholder ranges no longer comply. The law also extended the recovery period for equal pay claims to six years and expanded the definition of wages to include bonuses, equity, and other compensation forms.

Massachusetts expanded its pay transparency law effective October 29, 2025 to cover employers with 25 or more employees, down from the prior threshold. Active enforcement and audits began in 2026.

New Jersey enacted its pay transparency law effective June 1, 2025, adding another major employment state to the list.

Washington added a temporary cure period allowing employers to fix non-compliant postings after notice before penalties apply.

Remote Employees and Multi-State Employers

One of the most consequential compliance questions for employers in 2026 is whether pay transparency laws apply to remote roles. In most cases, the answer is yes. If a role can be performed from a state with a pay transparency requirement, that state's law may apply regardless of where the employer's headquarters is located.

For employers hiring nationally or posting roles as remote-eligible, this means the most stringent applicable state law effectively becomes the floor for your posting requirements. Many multi-state employers have adopted a uniform approach, including pay ranges on all postings regardless of state, to simplify compliance across their hiring operations.

Salary History Bans: A Separate but Related Requirement

Salary history bans are distinct from pay transparency laws but often exist alongside them. A salary history ban prohibits employers from asking applicants about their current or past compensation during the hiring process.

States with active salary history bans include California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Washington, among others. Some states have bans that apply only to public employers or specific jurisdictions.

These are separate compliance obligations from pay range disclosure. An employer can post a compliant salary range on a job listing and still violate the law by asking a candidate what they currently earn.

How What It Pays™ Supports Pay Range Compliance

Pay transparency compliance starts with having defensible, accurate pay ranges. You cannot post a compliant range if you have not done the underlying benchmarking work, and a range that does not reflect what you would actually pay creates its own legal exposure.

What It Pays™ gives HR teams the benchmarking foundation to build and maintain pay ranges using verified data across 40,000-plus job titles by state and nationally. When a new posting needs a range, the data is already there. When market conditions shift and ranges need updating, the platform reflects current data automatically. It is the data infrastructure that makes compliance possible.

Explore the platform at whatitpays.com.

What This Means for Your Compliance Posture

The practical implication of this landscape is that pay range compliance is no longer optional for any employer of meaningful size. Here is where to focus:

Audit your job postings. Review all current postings for roles in covered states or states where remote employees work. Verify that ranges are included and that they reflect what you would actually pay, not a placeholder range designed to satisfy the letter of the law.

Review your salary ranges. You cannot post a compliant range if you have not done the underlying benchmarking work. If your pay ranges are outdated or undocumented, that is the gap to close first.

Check your employee count thresholds. Most state laws include employee count thresholds that trigger different requirements. Know where your organization falls in each state where you operate or hire.

Document your methodology. Several states require that pay ranges reflect a good-faith estimate based on documented methodology. The ability to explain how you arrived at a range is becoming part of compliance, not just the range itself.

Monitor legislation in progress. Several states currently have pay transparency bills in progress. The compliance landscape in 2027 will look different from today. A process for tracking these developments is worth building now.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many states have pay transparency laws in 2026? As of 2026, sixteen states and Washington D.C. have enacted statewide pay transparency requirements of some kind. An additional number of states have local ordinances in specific cities. Several more states have legislation in progress.

Do pay transparency laws apply to remote employees? In most cases, yes. Pay transparency obligations generally follow the location where the work is performed. If a role is remote-eligible and could be filled by someone in a covered state, that state's disclosure requirements may apply regardless of where the employer is headquartered.

What is a good-faith salary range? A good-faith salary range is one that reflects what the employer reasonably expects to pay for the position. Several states have explicitly prohibited overly broad ranges designed to satisfy disclosure requirements without providing meaningful information to applicants.

What happens if an employer does not comply? Penalties vary by state and range from written warnings and modest fines to civil penalties of up to $10,000 per violation. Some states allow employees or applicants to file private lawsuits. Massachusetts and New Jersey began active enforcement and audits in 2026.

Does California require more than just salary ranges on job postings? Yes. California requires employers with 100 or more employees to submit annual pay data reports by job category and demographic group. Effective January 2026, salary ranges must reflect expected compensation upon hire, and wages for equal pay purposes now include bonuses, equity, and other compensation forms.

What is the difference between a pay transparency law and a salary history ban? A pay transparency law requires employers to disclose salary ranges in postings or upon request. A salary history ban prohibits employers from asking applicants about their current or past compensation. Many states have both requirements, but they are separate obligations with separate compliance considerations. Violating a salary history ban is possible even when a job posting is otherwise compliant.

Dr. Bruce Brown is the founder of CompRatio LLC and the creator of What It Pays™. He holds a PhD in Human Resources and the SHRM-SCP certification, and works as a practicing HR professional.

Need a benchmarking foundation for your pay ranges before your next job posting? Explore the platform at whatitpays.com.

Legal Disclaimer: This article is intended for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Pay transparency laws vary by jurisdiction, change frequently, and depend on facts specific to your organization. Nothing in this article creates an attorney-client relationship or should be relied upon as a substitute for consultation with a qualified employment attorney regarding your specific compliance obligations. What It Pays™ and CompRatio LLC are not law firms and do not provide legal services.