U.S. state and local pay-transparency laws (2026).
| Jurisdiction | Effective | Threshold | Requirement | Penalty |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| California (SB 642) | Jan 1, 2023 (amended Jan 1, 2026) | 15+ employees | Good-faith salary range the employer reasonably expects to pay upon hire. SB 642 clarified: no overly broad placeholders. | Civil penalties, DLSE enforcement |
| Colorado (EPEWA) | Jan 1, 2021 | All employers | Pay range, benefits, other compensation, application deadline. | CDLE enforcement |
| New York State | Sep 17, 2023 | 4+ employees | Compensation range. Explicitly covers remote positions. | NY DOL enforcement |
| New York City | Nov 1, 2022 | 4+ employees | Min/max salary in job ads. | NYC enforcement |
| Washington | Jan 1, 2022 (amended 2026) | 15+ employees | Wage scale/salary range + benefits + other compensation. Covers remote roles. | Adjusted fines; temporary cure period |
| Illinois | Jan 1, 2025 (rules expanded Jun 2026) | 15+ employees | Pay scale or compensation range + benefits. | IL DOL enforcement |
| Massachusetts | Oct 29, 2025 | 25+ employees | Good-faith pay range in postings, promotions, transfers. | Warning → $500 → $1,000; cure period until Oct 2027 |
| Minnesota | Jan 1, 2026 | 30+ employees | Good-faith min/max pay; no open-ended ranges; benefits + other compensation. | State enforcement |
| Virginia (SB 215) | Jul 1, 2026 | All employers | Wage/salary range in every posting. Also salary-history ban. | Civil penalty; private right of action; 15-day safe harbor |
| Maine | Jul 29, 2026 | 10+ employees | Prospective range of pay in job postings. | $100–$500 per violation |
| Vermont | 2026 | 5+ employees | Compensation or range in written job ads. | State enforcement |
| Washington D.C. | Jun 30, 2024 | All employers | Min/max pay + healthcare benefits before first interview. | DC enforcement |
Notable local jurisdictions with their own posting laws: NYC, Albany, Westchester, Ithaca (NY); Jersey City (NJ); Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Toledo (OH). "On request / before offer" states (CT, NV, RI) do not require the range in the ad but require disclosure at a defined point in the process.
International pay-transparency laws.
| Jurisdiction | Effective | Requirement |
|---|---|---|
| EU Pay Transparency Directive | Transposition deadline: Jun 7, 2026 | Employers must provide pay range before the interview or in the job advert. Ban on asking salary history. Only a handful of member states had fully transposed by mid-2026. |
| UK | Not yet mandatory (2026) | Consultation proposed Jul 2026: statutory duty to publish pay in job adverts. Gender pay gap reporting exists for 250+ employees since 2017. |
| Canada: British Columbia | Nov 1, 2023 | Expected salary range in all public postings. Salary-history questions prohibited. |
| Canada: Ontario | Jan 1, 2026 | 25+ employees must include expected compensation or range. Range cannot exceed CAD $50,000 if top is ≤ $200,000. |
| Canada: PEI | Jun 2022 | Expected pay or range in public postings. Salary-history ban. |
| Australia | No mandatory ranges (2026) | Pay-secrecy terms banned in new contracts since Jun 2023. Only ~17.5% of tracked ads show salary. |
The EU Pay Transparency Directive's transposition deadline was June 7, 2026. Only a handful of member states (Italy, Lithuania, Malta, Slovakia, Greece) had fully transposed by mid-2026. Several large states (Germany, France, Netherlands, Spain, Denmark, Ireland) missed the deadline. Multinational employers must track each country's local transposition rather than relying on a single EU rule.
Salary-history ban laws.
~20 U.S. states + D.C. ban or restrict salary-history questions: CA, CO, CT, DE, HI, IL, ME, MD, MA, NV, NJ, NY, OR, RI, VT, VA, WA, D.C.
In a ban state, employers cannot seek or rely on current or prior pay. If a form still asks for "current compensation," the candidate may leave it blank, decline, or answer with a target instead. Voluntary disclosure is usually allowed, but the employer cannot prompt it.
What to type in the salary field: by scenario.
| Scenario | What to type |
|---|---|
| Posting includes a range and the field is required | Anchor inside the range with your target near the middle. Use a tight range: "$90,000–$100,000 base, flexible on total comp." |
| Posting has no range in a transparency-law jurisdiction | You have the right to ask for the range. In free text: "I'd like to confirm the salary range for this role before naming a number." |
| Required numeric only, range known | Enter your target — the number you would say yes to — not your floor, and not the top of the posted band. |
| Required numeric only, range unknown | Enter a researched, defensible target for that title and location. Avoid placeholders. |
| Required dropdown | Pick the band that contains your target, not the lowest band you would accept. |
| Optional field | Leave blank or write "Negotiable — open to discussing based on the full package." |
| Field asks "current compensation" in a salary-history-ban state | Leave blank, decline, or write "Not required under [state] law; I'm targeting $[X] for this role." |
Do not put a number inside the range and hope to negotiate up later. ATS filters often use the number you enter. If the role is otherwise attractive, either apply with a number at the high end of the band plus a note, or ask whether the budget is firm before applying. If the gap is large, the posting itself is a signal that the budget does not match your target.
How major ATS platforms handle salary fields.
| ATS | Salary field behavior |
|---|---|
| Workday | Field labels vary: "desired compensation," "expected salary," "current base," "total compensation." Some numeric only, others free text. No standardized range in public posting API. |
| Greenhouse | Employer-configured custom fields. Supports standardized compensation fields (currency, base/bonus, frequency). Has a "pay transparency rules" feature for recruiters to auto-add ranges. |
| Lever | Job postings sometimes include structured compensation via api.lever.co; not universal. Candidate forms vary by employer. |
| Ashby | Most likely to expose structured ranges in the public API: min, max, currency, pay interval. However, only ~38.9% of Ashby postings had salary data in a Jul 2026 sample. |
"Supports salary" in the API does not mean the salary is populated. Only ~38.9% of Ashby postings and ~26.9% of Recruitee postings had salary data in a July 2026 sample. The form field type (free text, number, min/max, dropdown) matters more than the platform.
The knockout risk: values that auto-reject.
Values that commonly cause auto-rejection
- $0, $1, 000, 999, 99999 — placeholder values trigger knockout filters.
- Extremely wide ranges — signal you do not know your market value.
- Numbers far below the budget floor — ATS compares to the recruiter's set band.
- Numbers far above the budget ceiling — auto-rejected as over-budget.
Need help formatting your salary answer? Use the salary expectations picker to generate copy-ready wording based on the field type and your location. For the tactical guide on what to type, see the salary expectations guide.
Sources and limitations.
Primary sources cited
- California Labor Code § 432.3, as amended by SB 642 (effective Jan 1, 2026).
- Colorado EPEWA, C.R.S. § 8-5-101.
- NY DOL Pay Transparency Law FAQ (Sep 2023).
- Washington pay transparency law (2022, amended 2026).
- Illinois DOL Equal Pay Act FAQ (2025/2026).
- Massachusetts pay transparency law (effective Oct 29, 2025).
- Minnesota pay transparency law (effective Jan 1, 2026).
- Virginia SB 215 (effective Jul 1, 2026).
- Maine 26 M.R.S. § 622-A / § 626-A (effective Jul 29, 2026).
- EU Pay Transparency Directive 2023/970 (transposition deadline Jun 7, 2026).
- UK Equal Pay Consultation (Jul 2026).
- BC Pay Transparency Act (Nov 2023); Ontario ESA Bill 149/190 (Jan 2026).
- Australia Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Secure Jobs, Better Pay) Act 2022.
- Salary-history ban state list: revealbackground.com (Aug 2026), employsome.com (Aug 2026).
- ATS salary field data: Greenhouse Support, Ashby API docs, DEV Community API comparison (Jul 2026).
This is a legal landscape summary, not legal advice. Laws change frequently; effective dates and thresholds should be verified against the current state statute or agency guidance before relying on them. The EU transposition status is current as of mid-2026 but is changing rapidly. The ATS salary field behavior is employer-configurable and may differ by tenant. The ~38.9% Ashby salary data figure is from a single July 2026 sample and may not represent all postings.