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FAQs on Massachusetts Pay Range Transparency Law


This FAQ was prepared by the office of former Rep. Josh Cutler, who was the original sponsor of An Act Relative to Salary Range Transparency, which is now Chapter 141 of the Acts of 2024. The information here is intended to offer helpful guidance, though it should not be considered as any “official” position.

 

What does the new law do? It requires employers to disclose pay ranges in job postings and protects the rights of job applicants and employees to request the pay range for a position.

 

What types of employers are required to comply? Any public or private employer with 25 or more employees in Massachusetts.

 

What does a pay range mean? The range that an employer reasonably expects to pay for a particular position.

 

How is the pay range disclosed? The pay range can be expressed as an annual salary (i.e. $50,000 to $70,000) or an hourly rate (i.e. $18-$22 per hour).

 

What about bonuses, commissions, and other types of compensation? Employers are only required to include the pay range. However, nothing limits an employer’s ability to post additional details on compensation or benefits as they deem appropriate.

 

Can’t an employer just get around this by posting an overly broad range, i.e. $10,000 to $200,000? No, the law requires that an employer post a range that they “reasonably and in good faith” expect to pay for the posted position.

 

Is an employer required to disclose the actual salary? No, just the expected range. The only exception here would be if there was a position with a fixed salary that did not have any available range.


Does this mean an employer can’t later decide to pay more, or less, than the posted range? No, the law only requires the employer disclose what they reasonably expect the pay range to be for the position. A variety of factors could impact what an employer and employee ultimately negotiate. The key provision here is that the employer must act in good faith. Intentionally posting a false pay range would not comply with the statute.

 

Does this apply to part-time or hourly positions? Yes, it applies uniformly regardless of the type of position.

 

What about internal job postings or promotions? The same requirement applies.

 

What types of job postings does this apply to? Any type of job posting intended to recruit candidates for a specific job. That could include a posting on a commercial recruiting website, a newspaper help wanted section, an employer’s own website, or a social media site, for example. This is not an exclusive list.

 

What if an employer uses a third-party? An employer that hires another entity to conduct the job search is still required to disclose the pay range, assuming they meet the 25-employee threshold.

 

What about general recruitment postings? Recruitment postings that are not tied to a specific job are not subject to the pay range disclosure requirement.

 

When does the new law go into effect? It goes into effect one year after the effective date of the act. In this case that is October 29, 2025.

 

How will employers be notified of the new law?  The Massachusetts Attorney General’s office will conduct a public awareness campaign starting no later than April 29, 2025.

 

Is there a grace period for compliance? Yes, there is grace period until October 29, 2026, during which time an employer which receives notice of a violation has two business days to correct it before any penalty is imposed.

 

Who enforces this and what are the penalties for non-compliance? The Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office is tasked with enforcement. A first offense is subject to a warning. Subsequent offenses may result in fines. The law also includes anti-retaliation and anti-discrimination provisions.

 

If an employer fails to include a pay range for a single job in multiple postings do they get penalized each time? The law defines an offense as one or more job postings for positions made by the same employer during a 48-hour period.

 

How many other states have a similar pay range requirement? Massachusetts is the 11th state to adopt a pay range disclosure requirement.

 

What is the new data collection requirement?  The law also stipulates that large employers who are already subject to federal EEOC reporting requirements also submit a copy of this report to the state. This data will then be published in aggregate format by the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development.

 

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