Pay transparency laws explained and how to use them in negotiation

A few years ago, a job posting that told you what the job paid was a novelty. Now, for a large share of postings in the United States and a growing share in Canada and Europe, the salary range is required by law. That changes how you research a role, how you answer “what are your salary expectations”, and how you find out whether you are underpaid in the job you already have.

The rules are patchy and the ranges employers publish are sometimes absurdly wide. But used properly, they are the most useful negotiating tool a job seeker has gained in a generation. This article explains what the laws require, where, and then how to put a posted range to work.

The United States: a patchwork of state laws

There is no federal pay transparency law. What exists is a set of state and city laws that mostly follow the same template: employers above a headcount threshold must include a good-faith salary range (and often a description of benefits) in job postings, and in many states they are also banned from asking about your salary history.

Colorado went first. Its Equal Pay for Equal Work Act, in force from the start of 2021, was the first to require ranges in postings and applied to any employer with at least one worker in the state, which is why remote postings began saying “not available to Colorado residents” before employers gave up and complied. New York City’s law took effect in late 2022 and the rest of New York State followed in 2023. California and Washington both brought in posting requirements at the start of 2023 for employers with 15 or more staff. Since then Hawaii, Maryland, Illinois, Minnesota, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Vermont have adopted posting requirements, with varying thresholds, effective dates and definitions of what counts as a posting. Several more states have bills moving, so check the current position for your state rather than relying on a list that will be out of date within months.

A second group of states, including Connecticut, Nevada and Rhode Island, require the range to be disclosed on request or at a certain stage (for example after an interview or before an offer) rather than in the posting itself. And a large number of states and cities ban salary history questions outright, which matters because the history question was the main way employers anchored offers low.

Details that trip people up: thresholds are usually counted across the whole company, not just staff in the state. Most laws cover remote roles that could be done from the state, which is why a remote posting from a Texas company often carries a range “for Colorado, California, Washington and New York applicants”. Ranges must be “good faith”, a phrase that regulators have interpreted loosely, and enforcement is mostly complaint-driven. Bonuses, commission and equity are typically outside the required range, though some states require them to be described.

Canada, the EU, the UK and Australia

Canada. British Columbia’s Pay Transparency Act has required expected pay or a range in publicly advertised postings since late 2023, and bans salary history questions. Ontario’s law requiring ranges in postings was enacted and, after a delay, came into force at the start of 2026. Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador also have posting rules. The federal jurisdiction (banks, telecoms, interprovincial transport) does not yet require ranges.

European Union. The EU Pay Transparency Directive, adopted in 2023, is the most ambitious of the lot, and member states are required to write it into national law by June 2026, with some running late. Its main provisions: candidates have the right to know the starting pay or range for a role before the interview, either in the posting or beforehand; employers may not ask about your pay history; employees can request the average pay levels, broken down by sex, for workers doing the same or equal-value work; employers with 100 or more staff must report their gender pay gap, phased in by size; and where a gap of 5 percent or more cannot be justified by objective factors, the employer must carry out a joint pay assessment with worker representatives. Pay secrecy clauses become unenforceable and the burden of proof in equal pay claims shifts toward the employer. How this looks in practice will vary by country, and the first years will be messy, but it goes well beyond anything in the US.

United Kingdom. The UK has no requirement to put salary ranges in postings, and the practice remains inconsistent, with public sector and larger employers more likely to publish and much of the private sector still advertising “competitive”. What exists is gender pay gap reporting for employers with 250 or more staff since 2017, and a provision in the Equality Act 2010 that makes contractual pay secrecy clauses unenforceable where the disclosure is made to find out whether pay discrimination is happening. The government has consulted on going further, including ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting, and the position may change during the current parliament. Treat it as an area in flux.

Australia. Since 2022, pay secrecy clauses in employment contracts have been unlawful under the Fair Work Act, so you can discuss your pay freely. Since 2024 the Workplace Gender Equality Agency has published the gender pay gaps of individual large employers by name. There is no requirement to post ranges.

How to use a posted range in negotiation

A posted range tells you three things: what the employer thinks the job is worth at the bottom, what it might pay an exceptional hire at the top, and, by implication, where the midpoint sits. Most employers budget hires at or slightly below the midpoint and reserve the top for internal promotions or people with unusual skills.

Work out where you sit before you speak to anyone. If the range is $85,000 to $115,000 and you meet all the requirements with a couple of years of directly relevant experience, you are a midpoint candidate, and $100,000 is a reasonable anchor. If you exceed the requirements and bring something scarce, aim for the upper third. If you are a stretch hire, the lower third is honest, and you can negotiate a review at six months instead.

When the recruiter asks your expectations, the posted range gives you a clean answer: “I saw the posted range of 85 to 115. Based on my experience with X and Y, I’d be looking at the upper half, around 105.” You have used their number, so there is nothing to argue about, and you have placed yourself above the midpoint without sounding greedy.

Ask how the range was set. Useful questions: “Is that range for this level only, or does it span two levels?” “Where do people typically come in for someone with my background?” “Is the top of the range realistic for an external hire?” Recruiters will usually tell you, and the answers reveal whether the range is genuine or decorative.

If an offer comes in at the bottom of a posted range, say so plainly. “The posting listed a range up to 115 and the offer is at 86. Can you help me understand what would put someone at the midpoint?” That question either produces a better number or a specific gap you can address.

For the full sequence, including what to negotiate beyond base pay, see how to negotiate salary for a new job.

Using transparency in the job you already have

Posted ranges are just as useful for people not looking to move. If your employer advertises your own role, or a near-identical one, at a range whose midpoint is above what you earn, you have the strongest possible evidence for a raise conversation: the company’s own valuation of the job.

Gather three to five postings for your role at your employer and at comparable competitors in your area, note the ranges, and bring them to a scheduled conversation with your manager rather than a corridor chat. The argument is not “other people get more”. It is “the market rate for this role, including our own postings, is X, and I’m at Y.” Our guide to asking for a raise walks through timing and the script.

In the EU and, once national laws are in force, you will also be able to request average pay by sex for your job category. In the UK and Australia you can compare notes with colleagues without breaching your contract. In the US, the National Labor Relations Act protects most private-sector employees who discuss pay with coworkers, regardless of what the handbook says.

The limits

Be realistic about what these laws do not do.

Ranges can be enormous. A posting listing $60,000 to $180,000 tells you the employer is covering three levels or simply avoiding the law’s intent. Some regulators have started to challenge this, but in most places a wide range is technically compliant. Use the questions above to narrow it.

They cover base pay. Bonus, commission, equity and benefits are usually described vaguely or not at all. For sales roles and senior positions, the posted range can be a minority of total compensation.

They cover postings, not decisions. Nothing in a transparency law obliges an employer to pay you at the midpoint or to explain an offer at the bottom. The law gives you information. The negotiation is still yours to do.

Enforcement is thin. Most US state laws rely on complaints and modest penalties. Plenty of postings still lack ranges. Employers that ignore the law rarely face consequences unless someone reports them.

Ghost postings. Some ranges belong to jobs that are not really open. A posting that has been up for months with a wide range is often a pipeline ad.

Small employers are often exempt. Thresholds of 15, 25 or 30 staff exclude a large part of the labor market.

Two scripts to keep

When asked for expectations before a range is disclosed (in a state or country where you are entitled to it): “Before I answer, could you share the range the role is budgeted at? In [state] that’s required in the posting, and it’ll help me give you a useful answer.”

When an offer lands below the posted midpoint: “Thanks, I’m keen on the role. The posting showed a range up to [top]. Given [specific skill or experience the role calls for], I’d be looking for [number just above the midpoint]. What would it take to get there?”

Say both without apology. The employer published the number. You are simply reading it back.

What to do before your next application

Look up whether the state, province or country you would work in requires ranges in postings, and note the threshold. Then, for the next role you apply to, find the range before you fill in a single form. If it is not published where it should be, ask the recruiter for it in your first exchange. The people who get the top of the range are almost always the ones who knew what the range was before anyone asked them a number.