Pay Transparency Laws by State (2026): What US Job Postings Must Show

Which states require pay ranges in job postings?

Pay transparency laws spread fast after Colorado's law took effect in 2021. The table below summarizes the posting requirements trackers reported in 2026. Effective dates and thresholds come from employer guides published by payroll and HR providers; always confirm against the state's own page before you rely on a detail, because amendments are frequent.

Does the law apply to remote jobs?

Often, yes. Several states apply their rules when a role could be performed in that state, or when the position is performed there. Employer guides note, for example, that Maryland and the District of Columbia cover positions performed there, and Massachusetts covers roles whose primary place of work is in the state.

The safe operating rule for a multistate or fully remote employer is simple: post a good-faith range on every US posting. It costs nothing extra once the ranges exist, and it removes the risk of guessing where a remote hire will live.

What counts as a good-faith pay range?

Most laws describe the range as the pay the employer honestly and reasonably expects to offer at the time of posting. A range of $40,000 to $200,000 for an entry-level role is not a good-faith estimate, and regulators and applicants can tell.

Defensible ranges come from a pay structure: job levels, a market reference point for each level, and a minimum and maximum around it. If you do not have that structure yet, building it is the real project, and the posting rule simply forces the timeline.

• Group roles into levels by scope and accountability, not by job title.
• Set a market reference point per level from credible salary data.
• Build ranges around the reference point, typically wider for senior levels.
• Check current employees against the ranges before you publish them, and fix outliers.
• Write down who approves an offer outside the posted range, and why.

Why run a pay equity audit before posting ranges?

Once ranges are public, current employees compare their own pay with them. People paid below a newly posted range for their own job will ask why, and the question often surfaces differences by gender or race that nobody had analyzed.

A basic audit groups employees doing substantially similar work, compares pay after legitimate factors such as level, location and performance, and flags gaps you cannot explain. Do it with counsel where you can, budget for corrections, and fix the largest unexplained gaps before the postings go live.

What is the pay transparency compliance checklist?

Use this list once, then review it every time a new state law takes effect or you hire in a new state.

• List every state where you have employees or post roles that could be performed.
• Note each state's threshold, what must be posted (range, benefits, other compensation), and whether internal postings and promotions are covered.
• Build or update the pay structure behind your ranges.
• Run a pay equity review and correct unexplained gaps.
• Update posting templates in your applicant tracking system so the range and benefits fields are mandatory.
• Train recruiters and hiring managers on how to discuss ranges with candidates.
• Keep records of each posting and the range used.