Slightly more than a quarter of workers are now legally entitled to wage transparency — and the proposals could double that number in the coming years.
Nearly 44.8 million people, or 26.6 percent of the U.S. workforce, live in states where employers are legally required to list salary ranges in open job postings, according to data National Women’s Law Center.
Salary transparency has become a cornerstone of the workforce in recent years, with Colorado becoming the first state to require employers to post salary ranges on job ads in 2021.
So far, eight states have enacted wage transparency laws: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Maryland, New York, Nevada, Rhode Island and Washington. Several cities and counties, including Cincinnati and Jersey City, N.J., have their own pay transparency requirements.
According to NWLC, 16 more states and Washington, D.C. are considering pay range transparency laws in the 2023 state legislative session, including: Alaska, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine , Massachusetts, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, Oregon, South Dakota, Vermont, Virginia and West Virginia.
If the bills become law, an additional 38.8 million people, or 23 percent of the U.S. workforce, would have the right to view public salary ranges at their workplaces, bringing pay transparency to about half of U.S. workers.
Illinois is coming soon — The state legislature passed a bill In May, businesses with 15 or more employees will be required to list pay coverage and a general description of benefits on job listings. The bill will go to Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker on June 15 and, if signed, would take effect in January 2025.
Proponents of wage transparency say it is key to closing the racial and gender wage gap that has barely budged in years. In the U.S, Women’s wages are 82 cents For every dollar paid to a man, the gap widens by many, according to Census Bureau estimates women of color.
Research so far is mixed As for whether salary range laws actually help close the wage gap, early data suggests that ranges are sometimes too wide to actually help candidates.
But many say transparency is only the beginning of making pay equity a reality, and workers increasingly expect it from employers: 55% of job seekers and 64% of Gen Z job seekers will not apply to a job posting that lacks pay or pay Information, as of April 2023 job listing survey Nearly 30,000 job seekers.
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