Every four years the Olympic Games dominate the news, unite nations in cheering on their country's representatives, and highlight the best athletes in the world. Like many current major sports, the Olympic Games also spark conversation related to gender gaps in attention, viewership, and wages. The conversation is not limited to the Olympic Games, however, as more states continue to pass laws related to pay transparency that are intended, in part, to alleviate lingering discrepancies in gender-based wage gaps.

More than ten states and municipalities now have a variation of pay transparency laws. These laws typically include at least one of the following requirements: employers must post salary ranges for each new position, employers must disclose salary ranges at different points in the application process, and/or employers must report specific workforce demographic data and pay. While the main characteristics of the laws are similar, each state and municipality's laws have different nuances, definitions, and requirements.

For example, some of the pay transparency laws apply to all employers including local governments, while some of the laws only apply if the employer has a certain number of employees. There are differing approaches to whether the requirements only apply to positions that will be physically performed, at least in part, in that state or also to virtual positions. Confusingly, many of the laws do not specify the applicability to remote work, which leaves the employer in uncertainty. While some of the laws specify that the pay range should include bonuses, commissions, tips, or other benefits, many of the laws are broadly written and unclear. Another area of uncertainty, sometimes directly addressed in the law and sometimes left unspecified, relates to whether the posting rules also apply to third-party posters like recruitment agencies. For rules related to disclosures apart from job postings, some states require that employers automatically tell applicants the pay scale while other states only require disclosure upon request or once the applicant is offered the job. Lastly, some states allow for a private right of action while other states grant exclusive enforcement rights to their state's attorney general.

Most recently, Massachusetts enacted a pay transparency law that will go into effect on July 31, 2025, whereby employers with 25 or more employees "in the commonwealth" will be required to post the "pay range" for advertisements and job postings, automatically disclose pay range to an employee who is offered a promotion or transfer, disclose the pay range upon request to an applicant or employee holding such position, and "covered  employers" with over 100 employees who are “subject to the federal filing requirements of a wage data report” must share with the state the applicable work force demographics data reports (either EEO-1, EEO-3, EEO-4, EEO-5), and the state will publish the data reports online. Importantly, the first deadline for wage data reports is February 1, 2025, although the federal government currently does not require the filing of a wage data report.

Massachusetts is one of several recent states to enact pay transparency laws, including Washington D.C., which went into effect June 30, 2024. Maryland will go into effect on October 1, 2024, Minnesota and Illinois will both go into effect on January 1, 2025, and Vermont will go into effect on July 1, 2025. These states join California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Nevada, New York, Rhode Island, and Washington, which already have pay transparency laws in place. Employers should expect more states and cities to enact similar laws in the near future, as many are currently being considered. For example, a proposal in the New York City Council would require pay data reporting for employers with 25 or more covered employees to report information for each covered employee including salary, hiring month, job title, gender, race, ethnicity, birth year, and more.

There is also movement on the federal level for pay transparency. In early 2024, the White House proposed a rule related to pay transparency for federal contractors. Additionally, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission  is considering re-implementing a requirement for covered employers to report demographic pay data.

Navigating the varying state laws can look like legal gymnastics, especially for employers who have employees working in multiple states. In today's remote-work landscape and with the growing list of states enacting wage transparency laws, employers should be prepared to adjust their policies to fit the broad range of potentially applicable laws. For some employers this may mean enacting an across-the-board policy that ensures compliance with all state laws. Regardless of the employer's ultimate pay transparency policy, employers should evaluate the equity of their current pay scales and consider whether there is potential exposure to a lawsuit by current employees.

While not technically an Olympic sport, employers keeping up with the new pay transparency laws deserve a medal! If you have any questions regarding pay transparency laws or need assistance, please contact Hannah Oates or one of Ice Miller LLP's lawyers in the Workplace Solutions Group.

This publication is intended for general information purposes only and does not and is not intended to constitute legal advice. The reader should consult with legal counsel to determine how laws or decisions discussed herein apply to the reader’s specific circumstances.