If you post a job opening online, there’s a good chance the law now tells you what has to be in it. As of October 2026, 16 states plus Washington, D.C. have pay transparency laws in effect, Delaware’s is on the calendar for 2027, and the map changed again today — Connecticut’s job-posting mandate takes effect October 1, 2026.
The practical question for a small business owner: do I have to put the pay range in my job ad? In about a third of the country, the answer is yes. This guide covers all 50 states plus D.C., what each law requires, and what changed in 2025–2026.
Not legal advice. This is general information for employers, verified against state statutes and official labor-agency guidance. These rules carry real penalties, so have an employment attorney review your postings before you rely on this page. Where we couldn’t verify a detail from an official source, we say so.
The short version
- Posting laws (14 states + D.C.): the pay range goes in the job ad itself — California, Colorado, Connecticut (effective today), Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and D.C.
- Request/interview laws (2 states): Nevada requires the range after an applicant completes an interview; Rhode Island requires it on request, at hire, and on position changes.
- Coming soon: Delaware — signed, effective September 26, 2027.
- No law: 33 states (listed below), with local-ordinance exceptions flagged.
What changed in 2025–2026
- Connecticut — October 1, 2026 (today). Public Act 26-12: every internal and public job ad must disclose the wage range and a general benefits description — an upgrade from its 2021 on-request law.
- Maine — July 29, 2026. Employers with 10+ employees must include the pay range in every job posting.
- Virginia — July 1, 2026. Every public and internal posting must include the wage/salary or a good-faith range.
- Washington — 2025 amendment. From July 27, 2025 through July 27, 2027, an employer that gets written notice of a violation and fixes it within 5 business days faces no penalties.
- Delaware — signed 9/26/2025. Posting mandate (range + benefits) effective 9/26/2027.
- Earlier 2025 arrivals: New Jersey (6/1), Massachusetts (10/29), Minnesota, Illinois, and Vermont.
- Adjacent laws, not posting laws: Oregon’s SB 906 (effective 1/1/2026) requires written earnings/deduction explanations for new hires; Ohio’s Pay Stub Protection Act (2025) sets pay-stub rules. Neither puts ranges in postings.
Pay transparency laws by state (all 50 + D.C.)
| State | Status | What it requires | Applies to | Effective |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | In effect | Pay scale in every job posting, including third-party postings. Pay scale on request to applicants and employees for their own position. Salary-history ban. | 15+ employees (postings); on-request rules apply to all | 1/1/2023 (SB 1162) |
| Colorado | In effect | Every posting: expected compensation range, general benefits description, and how/when to apply. Must announce openings to all employees. Salary-history ban. | All employers with ≥1 person in CO | 1/1/2021; amended 1/1/2024 |
| Connecticut | In effect — posting mandate starts today | Every internal and public ad: wage range and general benefits description. No ad? Disclose on request or before any pay discussion. Employees: at hire, on position change, on request. Salary-history ban. | All employers — no size threshold | Posting: 10/1/2026 (PA 26-12); on-request since 2021 |
| Hawaii | In effect | Job listings must show an hourly rate or salary range reflecting actual expected pay. Exempt: internal transfers/promotions, collectively-bargained public positions. | 50+ employees | 1/1/2024 (Act 203) |
| Illinois | In effect | Every posting (internal included): pay scale and benefits — no open-ended ranges. Must announce promotions to current employees within 14 days of the external posting. | 15+ employees (all employees everywhere) | 1/1/2025 |
| Maine | In effect | Every posting: prospective pay range. Commission-only: state pay is commission-based. All employers: disclose on employee request; keep position/pay records for employment + 3 years. | 10+ employees (postings); on-request and records apply to all | 7/29/2026 |
| Maryland | In effect | Each posting: wage range (good-faith min/max), general benefits description, other compensation (bonuses, commissions, tips, stock). No posting? Disclose before any pay discussion and on request. 3-year records. | No employee-count threshold | 10/1/2024 |
| Massachusetts | In effect | Pay range in job postings; also on request when applying, on promotion/transfer, or for a current role. No benefits disclosure. 100+ employers must file EEO wage-data reports. | 25+ employees (100+ for EEO reporting) | 10/29/2025 |
| Minnesota | In effect | Each posting: starting salary range (min/max, good faith — not open-ended; fixed rate if none) and general description of all benefits and other compensation. | 30+ employees at ≥1 MN site | 1/1/2025 |
| Nevada | In effect — interview model | No posting requirement. After an applicant completes an interview, provide the wage/salary range automatically. Same for promotions/transfers when the employee applied and interviewed, or was offered the role and asked. Salary-history ban. | All employers | 10/1/2021 |
| New Jersey | In effect | Each posting (internal + external): exact pay or a range with a starting and ending point, general benefits description, and other compensation. Make reasonable efforts to tell current employees about promotions first. | 10+ employees over 20+ weeks in NJ | 6/1/2025 |
| New York | In effect | Every ad for a role performed at least partly in NY: compensation or good-faith range, plus a job description if one exists. Commission-only: “compensation based on commission” suffices. No benefits disclosure. | 4+ employees | 9/17/2023 |
| Rhode Island | In effect — request model | No posting requirement. Provide the wage range on applicant request (before discussing pay), at hire, on position changes, and to employees on request. Must post a notice of these rights. Salary-history ban. | All employers | 1/1/2023 |
| Vermont | In effect | Written ads: compensation or good-faith range (internal + external). Commission: state pay is commission-based. Tipped: state that fact and the base (non-tip) wage range. No benefits disclosure or record-keeping. | 5+ employees (≥1 in VT) | 7/1/2025 |
| Virginia | In effect | Every public and internal posting: wage/salary or good-faith range. Salary-history ban. 15-business-day cure period for posting violations before a private lawsuit. | All employers — no size threshold | 7/1/2026 |
| Washington | In effect | Each posting: wage scale or salary range and general description of all benefits and other compensation. Internal candidates get the range on request. Salary-history ban. | 15+ employees | 1/1/2023 (2025 amendment adds cure window) |
| District of Columbia | In effect | Min/max projected salary or hourly pay in all advertised listings and position descriptions. Disclose the existence of healthcare benefits before the first interview. Post a workplace notice of rights. Salary-history ban. | 1+ employees in D.C. | 6/30/2024 |
| Delaware | Enacted — effective 9/26/2027 | Will require salary/wage range and general benefits description in all postings; 3-year record-keeping. | More than 25 employees | 9/26/2027 |
States with no pay transparency law (33)
Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming.
Footnotes worth knowing:
- Ohio has no statewide posting law, but Cincinnati’s 2019 ordinance requires 15+ employers to provide the pay scale on reasonable request after a conditional offer. (Municipal details from employment-law sources; the city code wasn’t directly verified.)
- Oregon has no range-in-posting law, but SB 906 (effective 1/1/2026) requires written earnings/deduction explanations for new hires. Several other states (Alaska, Florida, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Montana, Louisiana, Arizona) have seen bills that weren’t enacted — the trend is one-directional: expect more states to join, not fewer.
Two models: posting laws vs. request laws
Most pay transparency laws follow the posting model: the range goes in the ad itself, where every applicant sees it before applying. Fourteen states plus D.C. use this model.
Nevada and Rhode Island use the request/interview model instead. No range in the posting is required — but you can’t dodge the question. In Nevada, a completed interview triggers automatic disclosure; in Rhode Island, an applicant’s request (or a hire, or a position change) does. Many guides lump these states in with the posting laws — they aren’t the same, and the distinction matters for a company-wide posting template.
What to put in your job posting: a practical checklist
If you hire in any posting-law state, build these into every ad:
- A good-faith range with both ends. “Up to $35/hr” or “$70k and up” fails in Illinois, New Jersey, Minnesota, and Maryland, which require a real minimum and maximum. Use the range you’d actually pay.
- Benefits and other compensation, where required. Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, Washington, D.C. (before the first interview), and Delaware (2027) require some form of benefits disclosure — a general description (health, retirement, PTO) is enough; dollar values aren’t required. Maryland and New Jersey also want bonuses, commissions, tips, and similar called out when they’re a real part of the package.
- The same range internally. Colorado, Illinois, Maryland, Virginia, and others cover internal postings and promotion announcements too — the internal listing can’t be vaguer than the public one.
- Commission and tipped roles. Most states accept “compensation is commission-based” instead of a range. Vermont additionally requires the base wage range for tipped positions.
- Third-party postings. In California and Illinois, if a recruiter or job board posts on your behalf, the range must be in their posting too — and you’re on the hook if it isn’t.
- Remote workers count. Most laws apply based on where the work is performed or where the employee reports. A remote employee in Colorado or New York brings that state’s rules to your posting.
One habit that costs nothing: even in states with no law, posting a range gets you more — and better-matched — applicants. Job-seeker surveys consistently show listings with pay ranges draw significantly more applications.
Enforcement and penalties
- State-agency enforcement is the norm — labor departments or attorneys general. Colorado reports nearly 3,000 complaints since 2021, with two dozen citations and roughly $482,000 in fines after settlements.
- Private lawsuits are allowed in several states — Connecticut, California, and Virginia (after a 15-business-day cure period).
- Cure periods are a growing trend: Washington (5 business days, through July 2027), Virginia (15 business days), and Massachusetts (2 business days after a notice, through October 2027) let employers fix a posting before penalties hit.
- No private lawsuits in Maryland, Massachusetts, Vermont, or D.C. — the state enforces, not the applicant.
- We deliberately did not publish specific fine amounts for Illinois, New Jersey, or Delaware: secondary sources conflict and we couldn’t verify a figure on an official page. Treat any dollar figure you see elsewhere with skepticism until your attorney confirms it.
Watch list: what’s coming
- Delaware — September 26, 2027. The next posting mandate goes live.
- Hawaii — possible expansion. A 2026 bill would remove the 50-employee exemption, pulling small employers in. Still pending.
- California — possible redefinition. A pending bill (SB 642) would revise what “pay scale” means — California postings may need rewording if it passes.
How this guide was researched
Every “in effect” claim above traces to an official source we opened — a state statute or bill page, state labor-agency guidance, or an attorney-general fact sheet. States listed as having “no law” reflect our best verified read: proving a negative from official sources isn’t possible, and local ordinances (like Cincinnati’s) can still apply.
Related resources
- Final Paycheck Laws by State (2026)
- Meal and Rest Break Laws by State (2026)
- Labor Law Poster Checker
Last updated: October 1, 2026. Laws change — check the official sources above and your employment attorney before making decisions.