Last July, Massachusetts joined a growing number of states mandating that employers provide pay transparency to employees. The Massachusetts pay transparency law also includes a wage data reporting component that requires covered employers to submit EEO-1 reports to the Commonwealth on an annual basis. As the Feb. 3, 2025, deadline to file EEO-1 reports nears, the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development has released frequently asked questions (FAQs) to help employers comply with the wage data reporting aspect of the new law.

Key Takeaways

  • The Massachusetts pay transparency law was drafted to mirror the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC’s) reporting requirements, including a prior wage data reporting obligation that entailed submitting W-2 income earnings by race/ethnicity, sex, and job category. Significantly, the EEOC has not required the wage data reporting component since 2018. Thus, the FAQs confirm that the Commonwealth will still accept EEO-1 reports and will not require any additional information at this time.
  • Only employers with at least 100 employees in the Commonwealth at any time during the prior calendar year are subject to the reporting requirement (the threshold drops to 25 for the disclosure of pay ranges in job postings).
  • The statute provides that the initial wage data report is due by Feb. 1, 2025, and annually on the same date thereafter. If the deadline falls on a weekend or holiday, however, it will be extended to the next business day. Since Feb. 1 falls on a Saturday this year, reports will be accepted until Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. The other EEO reports are due by the same deadline but on a biennial basis: EEO-3 and EEO-5 this year, and EEO-4 next year.
  • Employers must submit the report in PDF, JPG, or PNG format to the Secretary of State’s office through the web portal: EEO Wage and Workforce Data Reports.
  • By June 1, 2025, the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development will publish the inaugural wage and workforce data report.

In addition to the impending wage data reporting deadline, employers should continue to prepare for the pay disclosure requirements that go into effect in October 2025.

Employers should be reviewing (or implementing pay ranges) for various job categories and evaluating whether employees are properly compensated within the established pay ranges. We expect additional guidance on the pay disclosure requirements.

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy has signed into law a new statute requiring pay transparency. The law will become effective on June 1, 2025.

Specifically, the law requires all employers that have at least 10 employees over 20 calendar weeks and that do business, employ persons, or take applications for employment within the Garden State to disclose the hourly wage or salary (or a range of the hourly wage or salary it would consider) for the advertised position, as well as a general description of all benefits and other compensation programs the applicant would be eligible for within the first 12 months of their employment.

Further, if an employer decides to advertise (either internally or externally) for a position which could be considered a promotion for an existing employee, the employer must make “reasonable efforts” to announce, post, or otherwise make known the promotion opportunity to all current employees in the affected department(s) before making a decision as to who will be selected for the open position.

Temporary help service firms and consulting firms registered with the Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety are excepted from the disclosure requirements.

For more information on the new law and requirements for compliance, please see Getting Clear on NJ’s Upcoming Pay Transparency Law: Terms, Requirements + Noncompliance Consequences Employers Need to Know. Contact your Jackson Lewis attorney with any questions on compliance with the new law.

New Jersey is set to join the growing number of states mandating pay transparency in job postings. Senate Bill 2310 will require most employers to disclose the wage or salary range and a general description of benefits for new job or transfer opportunities. Governor Phil Murphy has until November 10, 2024, to sign the bill, which, if signed, will take effect seven months later. Read more.

At one time largely a U.S. concern, pay equity and transparency have rapidly become globally important to all multinational companies wherever headquartered. The EU Pay Transparency Directive is a milestone adopted with clear objectives: closing the gender pay gap and making it easier to bring equal pay claims. The 24 Member States have until June 7, 2026, to implement the Directive into their own law. Businesses should begin taking appropriate action now to ensure compliance. Powerful enforcement mechanisms back the Directive’s new reporting requirements. Read more.

Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey has signed into law “An Act Relative to Salary Pay Range Transparency,” requiring employers with at least 25 employees to include pay range information in job postings and advertisements. Covered employers will also need to provide pay range information directly to employees and applicants, upon request. Massachusetts joins the growing number of states requiring pay transparency in job postings, including: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Washington, D.C., Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington. Read more.

The District of Columbia successfully amended its wage transparency laws, bringing employers a June 30, 2024, compliance date for the new pay and benefit transparency obligations. The District of Columbia passed the Wage Transparency Omnibus Amendment Act of 2023, changing its 2014 wage transparency laws to provide applicants and employees expanded pay protections while being screened in a hiring, promotion, or transfer process. Read more.

Vermont Governor Phil Scott signed H.704 on June 4, 2024, mandating pay transparency in job postings and advertisements. Effective July 1, 2025, employers with at least five employees must include in any “Vermont job opening” advertisement the compensation or range of compensation for the advertised position.

Why It Matters
The law applies not only to positions “physically located in Vermont” but also any remote positions that will predominately perform work for an office or work location physically located in Vermont. In addition, the law applies to positions that are (1) open to internal or external candidates, or both, and (2) positions into which current employees can transfer or be promoted.

Definition of Advertisement
“Advertisement” is any “written notice, in any format, of a specific job opening that is made available to potential applicants.”

The law does not include:

  • General announcements that notify potential applicants that employment opportunities may exist with the employer but do not identify any specific job openings; or
  • Verbal announcements of employment opportunities made in person or on the radio, television, or other electronic mediums.

What Must Be Disclosed
Advertisements must include the minimum and maximum annual salary or hourly wage for a job opening the employer expects in good faith to pay for the advertised job at the time the employer creates the advertisement. The law does not prevent an employer from hiring an employee for more or less than the range of compensation advertised based on circumstances outside the employer’s control, such as an applicant’s qualifications or labor market forces.

Exceptions
Job advertisements for positions paid on a commission basis must disclose that the position is commission-based, but the employer is not required to disclose the compensation or range of compensation.

Advertisements for positions paid on a tipped basis must disclose that it is a tipped position and provide the base wage or range of base wages for the job opening.

To Be Determined
There is no provision for fines or other penalties for violations of the law. The Vermont Attorney General’s Office is to publish on its website guidance on the pay disclosure law before Jan. 1, 2025, six months before the law’s effective date.

Next
With this latest development in state pay equity and transparency laws, employers should:

  • Conduct training for recruiters and hiring and compensation managers on pay equity and transparency laws
  • Review job descriptions, postings, and advertisements to ensure compliance with state and local laws
  • Review career sites to remove or revise outdated or non-compliant job postings
  • Review compensation processes and systems
  • Conduct a privileged pay analysis
  • Remember that the salary range requirement for postings also would apply to recruitments conducted for PERM green card applications for foreign nationals

Please contact a Jackson Lewis attorney with any questions on compliance with pay transparency obligations.

The final days of the 2024 Minnesota legislative session brought a flurry of activity impacting Minnesota employment laws, including many substantive changes to existing Minnesota employment laws and several new employment laws. One of the new laws is Minnesota Statutes section 181.173, requiring employers with at least 30 employees to include pay rate and benefits information in job postings and solicitations.

Effective Jan. 1, 2025, any “person or entity that employs 30 or more employees at one or more sites in Minnesota” must disclose in each posting for each job opening “the starting salary range” and “a general description of all the benefits and other compensation, including but not limited to any health or retirement benefits,” that will be offered to the applicant hired for the position. With regard to the salary range, this means that each posting must include “the minimum and maximum annual salary or hourly range of compensation” for that job opportunity with the employer at the time it posts the job. The salary range can be based on the employer’s good faith estimate, but cannot include an open-ended range. Further, if an employer does not plan to offer a salary range for the position posted, the posting “must list a fixed pay rate.”

The scope of this disclosure requirement is broad. An employer must include the wage disclosure information in any solicitation posted electronically or in hard copy that includes qualifications for desired applicants and is intended to recruit job applicants for a specific available position. The requirement also applies to the employer regardless of whether it is doing the recruiting directly or through a third party.

Please contact a Jackson Lewis attorney with any questions.

Effective October 1, 2024, Maryland will join a growing list of states in promoting wage transparency in the workplace. The Maryland Wage Transparency Law (SB 525/HB 649) requires employers, both public and private, to publish wage ranges, a “general description of benefits,” and “any other compensation” in all internal and external job postings. This new law builds on previous pay transparency legislation that requires disclosure of a wage range upon request and prevents employers from requesting applicant and employee wage history.

Applicability
The law applies to positions that are physically performed, at least in part, in Maryland. It remains to be seen how “in part” will be defined, given the prevalence of remote and hybrid work. The Maryland Department of Labor is expected to issue guidance that may help clarify the new law.

Definition of “Wage Range”
Under the new law, “wage range” means “the minimum and maximum hourly or salary wage for a position.” An employer, in good faith, must determine the wage range, based on:

  • Any pay scale;
  • Any previously determined minimum and maximum hourly or salary wage for the position;
  • Minimum and maximum hourly or salary wage of current employees holding equivalent positions at the time of the posting; or
  • The budgeted amount for the position.

Disclosure Requirements, Timing
Employers must disclose the wage range in any public or internal job postings. Along with the wage range, the posting must include a general description of the position, benefits, and any other compensation offered for the position. If a job posting was not made available to an applicant for the position, the employer must disclose to the applicant the required information before holding compensation discussions with the applicant and at any other time upon the applicant’s request.

Record-Keeping Requirements
Employers must maintain records of wages, job classifications, and other employment conditions for three years after a position is filled or the job posting is made if the position remains unfilled.

Enforcement, Penalties
Unlike the California and Washington state transparency laws, Maryland’s law does not create a private right of action for employees or job applicants. Instead, Maryland’s labor commissioner is tasked with enforcement of the new law. The commissioner has discretionary authority to enforce various penalties for violating the wage transparency requirements including:

  • First Violation: The commissioner may issue a compliance letter to the employer, demanding adherence to the law.
  • Second Violation: The employer may be assessed a civil penalty of up to $300 for each employee or applicant affected by the non-compliance.
  • Subsequent Violations: If further violations occur within three years of a previous violation, the employer may face a civil penalty of up to $600 for each employee or applicant affected.

When determining what penalty to issue, the commissioner will consider factors like the gravity of the violation, the size of the business, the employer’s good faith, and prior violations.

Ensuring Compliance With Maryland’s Wage Transparency Law
To ensure compliance with Maryland’s new Wage Transparency Law, employers should take proactive steps. Here are a few recommendations:

  • Review compensation and related policies and practices: Proactively review compensation to ensure internal equity and that wage rates are set consistently and equitably.
  • Review and Update Policies: Regularly review job posting and hiring practices to ensure they align with the requirements of the new law.
  • Educate Your Team: Conduct training sessions for HR personnel and hiring managers about the implications of the law and the importance of wage range disclosure.
  • Implement Systematic Changes: Adjust your HR systems to automatically include wage range information in job postings and internal notifications.
  • Keep Detailed Records: Maintain thorough records of wages, job classifications, and other relevant employment data to comply with the law’s three-year record-keeping requirement.

Contact a Jackson Lewis attorney with any questions.

Ashley Woozley, law clerk, assisted with preparing this post.