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Just over 1 in 4 workers is now entitled to salary transparency by law — and proposals could double that number in the next few years.
Nearly 44.8 million people, or 26.6% of the U.S. labor force, live in a state where employers are required by law to list salary ranges in public job postings, according to data from the National Women’s Law Center.
Pay transparency has become a cornerstone of the labor force in recent years, with Colorado becoming the first state to require employers post pay ranges on job ads in 2021.
So far, eight states have salary transparency laws on the books: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Maryland, New York, Nevada, Rhode Island and Washington. Several cities and counties like Cincinnati and Jersey City, N.J., have their own pay transparency requirements.
Another 16 states and Washington D.C. have considered pay range transparency laws in the 2023 state legislative session, according to the NWLC, including: Alaska, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, Oregon, South Dakota, Vermont, Virginia, and West Virginia.
If these bills become law, an additional 38.8 million people, or 23% of the U.S. labor force, would be entitled to see public salary ranges for their workplace, bringing pay transparency to roughly half of U.S. workers.
Illinois is nearly there — the state legislature passed a bill in May that would require businesses with 15 or more employees to list the pay range and general description of benefits for job listings. The bill is headed to Gov. J.B. Pritzker, a Democrat, as of June 15, and if signed will go into effect in January 2025.
Proponents of salary transparency say it’s a crucial piece to closing racial and gender wage gaps, which have barely budged in years. In the U.S., women are paid 82 cents for every dollar paid to a man, according to Census Bureau estimates, and the gap widens for many women of color.
So far, research is mixed as to whether salary range laws actually help close wage gaps, and early numbers indicate ranges are sometimes too wide to really help candidates.
But many say transparency is only the start to making pay equity a reality, and workers increasingly expect it from their employers: 55% of job-seekers, and 64% of Gen Z applicants, won’t apply to a job posting that lacks wage or salary information, according to an April 2023 Joblist survey of nearly 30,000 job-seekers.
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