Compensation laws by state: an overview

States are increasingly mandating transparency around compensation. It’s important for companies to stay ahead of these changes to stay compliant. Make sure your team is in the best position to do so with Complete. Here is a brief overview of a few general laws to keep in mind by state.

This post only includes states and territories in the US. However, many cities and counties, including New York City, are passing compensation laws of their own. We'll write a separate blog post breaking those down. Stay tuned!

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Alabama companies must…

• Not refuse to hire, interview, or promote a candidate if the candidate chooses not to provide pay history
• Comply with these laws at risk of court-determined penalty

California companies must…

• Provide pay scale to employees for their current position on request if they have 15 or more employees (starting 2023)
• Provide pay scale to candidates for positions they apply to on request if they have 15 or more employees (starting 2023)
• Post salaries for all job listings if they have 15 or more employees (starting 2023)
• Submit annual pay report to the state if they have 100 or more employees
• Not ask about pay history
• Not use pay history in determining employee pay if the pay history is volunteered by a candidate or an employer knows it already
• Comply with these laws at risk of fines of up to $300 per employee
• For more information about California’s new laws, check out our previous blog post.

Colorado companies must…

• Provide pay scale and benefits for all job listings
• Provide pay scale for any remote job that could be filled by a Colorado resident
• Notify current employees of all promotion opportunities
• Not ask about pay history or use it to determine employee pay
• Not retaliate against employees should they refuse to disclose their pay history
• Comply with these laws at risk of fines of up to $10,000 per violation

Connecticut companies must…

• Provide a pay scale for all job offers
• Provide a pay scale before the job offer on request of a candidate
• Provide a pay scale to any person moving into a new position, including transfers and promotions
• Not ask about pay history, unless the candidate chooses to disclose it
• Comply with these laws at risk of uncapped fines

Delaware companies must…

• Not ask about pay history (though they can confirm pay history after an offer is extended)
• Comply with these laws at risk of fines over $15,000

Hawaii companies must…

• Not ask about pay history or use it in the pay determination process, unless a candidate chooses to disclose it (this does not apply to internal transfers and promotions)
• Comply with these laws at risk of court-determined penalty

Illinois companies must…

• Not ask about pay history
• Not retaliate against employees should they refuse to disclose their pay history
• Comply with these laws at risk of fines of up to $10,000 per violation

Maine companies must…

• Not ask about pay history until after a job offer has been negotiated
• Comply with these laws at risk of court-determined penalty

Maryland companies must…

• Provide pay scales to candidates on request
• Not ask candidates about previous salary history (though they can confirm pay history a candidate voluntarily discloses after an offer is extended)
• Comply with these laws at risk of fines of up to $900 per applicant affected

Massachusetts companies must…

• Not ask about pay history (though they can confirm pay history a candidate voluntarily discloses after an offer is extended)
• Provide pay scales to candidates on request
• Comply with these laws at risk of court-determined penalty

Nevada companies must…

• Provide a pay scale to candidates after the first interview
• Provide a pay scale to those receiving internal transfers and promotions on request
• Not ask about pay history
• Not use pay history in determining employee pay if the pay history is volunteered by a candidate or an employer knows it already
• Not retaliate against employees should they refuse to disclose their pay history (though they can ask about pay expectations)
• Comply with these laws at risk of fines of up to $5,000 per violation

Oregon companies must…

• Not ask about pay history until after an offer is extended
• Not use pay history in determining employee pay if the pay history is volunteered by a candidate or an employer knows it already (unless the candidate is seeking an internal transfer or promotion)
• Comply with these laws at risk of fines of up to $150,000

Puerto Rico companies must…

• Not ask about pay history (though they can confirm pay history after an offer is extended)
• Comply with these laws at risk of court-determined penalty

Rhode Island companies must…

• Provide a pay scale to candidates on request (starting 2023)
• Provide a pay scale to those receiving internal transfers and promotions on request (starting 2023)
• Not ask about pay history (Though they can confirm pay history after an offer is extended. This information can only be used to provide higher pay than initially offered.)
• Not use pay history in determining employee pay if the pay history is volunteered by a candidate or an employer knows it already (starting 2023)
• Comply with these laws at risk of fines of up to $10,000 per violation

Vermont companies must…

• Not ask about pay history (though they can confirm pay history after an offer is extended)
• Comply with these laws at risk of court-determined penalty

Virginia companies must…

• Not ask about pay history if they have 25 or more employees
• Comply with these laws at risk of fines up to $100 per violation

Washington companies must…

• Provide a pay scale for all job offers on request
• Provide a pay scale to those receiving internal transfers and promotions on request
• Not ask about pay history (though they can confirm pay history after an offer is extended)
• Not retaliate against employees should they refuse to disclose their pay history
• Comply with these laws at risk of fines up to $5,000 per violation