Salary ranges must be included in job postings for roles in California, Colorado, D.C., Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Vermont, and Washington, plus Cleveland, OH. This applies to internal and external ads, promotions, and transfer opportunities for work performed in these jurisdictions.
How the rules apply
The place where a worker does the job typically determines if an ad needs a salary range.
- Physical sites: If a role is tied to an office in a state with these laws, the employer must list the pay.
- Remote work: These roles generally fall under the rules if the employer is willing to hire people who live in covered states or cities.
- Business size: If a business meets the employee count threshold (often 4 to 15+) in a covered area, the rules apply to all their local job ads.
HR teams commonly find that "remote" roles are the hardest to manage because the pool of potential workers is so large.
Scope of coverage for other jurisdictions
Specific cities have passed laws that make it mandatory to show pay. For example, Ohio doesn’t require disclosing salary ranges, but Cleveland does, and Columbus will mandate it soon. New York City, Jersey City, and several jurisdictions in New York State, like Westchester and Albany counties, have their own rules, although their states already require disclosing salary ranges.
HR teams typically check salary benchmarking data to make sure their ranges are right for the specific market.
Operational reality for HR teams
Hiring remote workers makes it harder for a company to follow every local rule. When an employer opens a role to "anywhere in the US," they may suddenly need to follow many different laws at once.
To lower this risk, many HR teams now include salary ranges on every job ad they post in the US.
Boundaries and risk
Many employers choose to be cautious because the rules vary from state to state. They typically list the full range, even if they are not sure a law requires it. For more help with wage standards, HR teams can check the U.S. Department of Labor website.
TL;DR
- Salary ranges in ads are mandatory for all roles in 12 state-level jurisdictions, plus specific cities.
- Remote roles from covered jurisdictions usually fall under these rules.
- As a result, many employers now list ranges on all US job ads.