As of August 1, 2026, 16 states plus Washington, D.C. will have statewide pay transparency laws in effect that require employers to disclose what a job pays, including California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington. This number is only growing, as Delaware’s pay transparency law takes effect September 26, 2027. The District of Columbia has a similar law, as do a number of local jurisdictions, including Jersey City, New Jersey; Albany County, Westchester County, Ithaca, and New York City, New York; and Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, and Toledo, Ohio, even though Ohio does not have a statewide law.
The substance of these laws varies considerably. California, Colorado, and New York require a pay range in essentially every job posting, while other states only require disclosure after an interview, upon request, or at the point of hire. Some states — including Colorado, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, and Washington — require disclosure of both base pay as well as benefits or other compensation components.
Whether an employer is covered under these laws may depend on the number of employees it has in the state, such as New York, which requires only four employees, or Hawaii, which requires 50 employees. Or the state law may cover “all employers” such as Colorado, Connecticut, Nevada, and Rhode Island. Many of these laws also reach remote postings tied to the state, meaning an employer’s obligations can turn on where a remote employee resides rather than where the company is headquartered…