Employer Alert: Massachusetts Salary Range Transparency Law

August 2, 2024

On July 31, 2024, Governor Healey signed into law a bill requiring employers to disclose salary ranges and protect an employee’s right to request information about salary ranges. Massachusetts is the eleventh state to mandate pay transparency. The salary disclosure requirements will go into effect in one year.

Salary Range Posting Requirements

The Act requires public and private employers with 25 or more employees in the Commonwealth to (i) post the pay range for a position in a job posting; (ii) disclose the pay range to employees who are promoted or transferred to a new position with different job responsibilities; and (iii) upon request, provide the pay range to an employee or applicant for a particular position.

  • “Pay range” refers to the salary range or hourly wage range that an employer expects to pay for a particular position at that time.

  • “Posting” refers to any advertisement or job posting used to recruit applicants for a position, including, but not limited to, recruitment done by an employer directly or indirectly through a third party.

EEO-Reporting Obligations

The Act requires employers with 100 or more employees in the Commonwealth (who are subject to the federal filing requirements of a wage data report) to submit an annual EEO data report that includes workforce demographic and pay data categorized by race, ethnicity, sex, and job category.

Employers must submit the report annually, by February 1, to the state secretary, starting February 1, 2025. Local Union Reports, State and Local Governmental Information Reports, and Elementary-Secondary Staff Information Reports must be submitted every other year by February 1.

The state secretary will submit the wage data reports to the executive office of labor and workforce development by April 1. The executive office of labor and workforce development will publish the reports by June 1.

Prohibition Against Retaliation

It is unlawful for employers to discriminate or retaliate against any employee/applicant because the employee/applicant:

  • Acted to enforce their rights pursuant to the Act;

  • Complained to their employer, agent of their employer, or the attorney general regarding an alleged violation of the Act;

  • Instituted a proceeding under the Act; or

  • Testified or is about to testify at any proceeding.

Enforcement

The Attorney General enforces the Act and may seek injunctive, declaratory relief, or impose fines for violations. The Act does not include a private right of action. Violations will result in the following fines:

  • First offense will receive a warning

  • Second offense is subject to a fine of not more than $500

  • Third offense is subject to a fine of not more than $1,000

  • Subsequent offenses are subject to civil fines 

An “offense” includes one or more job postings for positions made by the same employer during a 48-hour period.

What Can Employers Do to Ensure Compliance?

Employers should prepare a plan to comply with the new pay transparency requirements and consider whether a communication strategy is needed to address these new obligations. Employers should also review their EEO-1 filing process to ensure compliance by the February 1 deadline.

For further information about the Salary Range Transparency Act, contact Allyson E. Kurker and Margaret H. Paget at Kurker Paget LLC.