TR Trending: Pay Transparency Bills Proposed in 8 States
Workspan Daily
February 04, 2025

Given all the turn, churn and burn currently occurring at the federal level with the new administration of President Donald Trump, much action at the state level has been somewhat flying under the radar.

Most prominent in state policymaking has been movement on pay transparency laws. Senators or representatives in eight states (Alaska, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Missouri, Montana, Oregon and Virginia) have introduced related bills over the past month. 

This article provides a roundup of these bills.

Alaska

Senate Bill 78, introduced Jan. 29 by Democratic Sen. Forrest Dunbar, is listed as “an act relating to disclosure of information regarding employee compensation by employers, employees and applicants for employment.”

Under the bill, if passed, employers would:

  • Not be able to ask applicants about their current or prior compensation;
  • Be required to post the salary or salary range for all job postings; and,
  • Be subject to fines of $100 to $2,000 for violating this law (plus, each unresolved day would trigger a new and separate violation).

Indiana

House Bill 1300, introduced Jan. 13 by Democratic Rep. Sue Errington, “addresses wage transparency and aims to reduce pay disparities.” It has been referred to the Indiana House of Representatives’ Committee on Employment, Labor and Pensions.

The bill, if passed, prohibits employers from:

  • Relying on a job applicant’s wage history to determine wages and hiring decisions (except in certain circumstances);
  • Failing or refusing to disclose the wage or wage range and a general description of benefits in a posting for a job, promotion, transfer or other employment opportunity;
  • Failing or refusing to provide an employee with the current wage or wage range and a general description of the benefits upon hire, promotion, transfer and the employee’s request; and,
  • Retaliating against an applicant under the wage history provisions and an applicant or employee under the wage range provisions.

Under the law, an applicant or employee may file a complaint alleging a violation with the Indiana Department of Labor, or the department on its own may initiate an investigation and file a complaint alleging a violation.

Iowa

Senate File 187, introduced Feb. 3 by 12 Democratic senators, is referenced as the “Pay Transparency and Fairness Act” and is meant to be “a bill for an act relating to wage discrimination under the Iowa Civil Rights Act of 1965 and making penalties applicable.”

Under the bill, if passed, employers would:

  • Not be allowed to ask candidates about their current or prior salary; and,
  • Need to post the “minimum rate of pay” (i.e., hourly wage, salary, commission) for jobs.

In addition, the bill prohibits an employer from:

  • “Requiring an employee to refrain from disclosing, discussing or sharing information about the amount of the employee’s wages, benefits or other compensation or from inquiring, discussing or sharing information about any other employee’s wages, benefits or other compensation as a condition of employment”;
  • “Requiring an employee to sign a waiver or other document that requires an employee to refrain from engaging in any of those activities as a condition of employment;” and/or,
  • “Discriminating or retaliating against an employee for engaging in any of the activities.”

This law would be applicable for W-2 employees (individuals formally employed by a U.S. company or organization) and independent contractors.

Maine

Legislative Document 54, introduced Jan. 6 by Democratic Rep. Amy Roeder, is listed as “an act to require employers to disclose pay ranges and maintain records of employees’ pay histories.” This bill is a reintroduction of one Roeder brought forth in 2024. The prior effort passed out of committee but was never taken up by the full Maine House of Representatives.

The bill, if passed, would require employers with more than 10 employees to:

  • Include a salary range for prospective employees in any job posting;
  • Maintain records of salary ranges for each position, and then share that information with an employee upon request; and,
  • Keep all pertinent salary records for three years after an employee leaves the employer.

The bill doesn’t specify any enforcement mechanism for violations.

Missouri

Senate Bill 373, introduced Jan. 8 by Democratic Sen. Steven Roberts, is labeled “new law relating to wage range inquiries by employees and prospective employees.”

Under the bill, if passed, employers are required to provide a wage range to:

  • “A prospective employee for a position for which the prospective employee is applying, upon the earliest of the prospective employee’s request or prior to or at the time an offer of compensation is made”; or
  • “An employee who has applied for a promotion or transfer to a new position if an employee has (a) completed an interview for the promotion or transfer or been offered the promotion or transfer, and (b) requested the wage or salary range or rate for the promotion or transfer.”

The act’s verbiage states that an employer can ask “a prospective employee about his or her wage or salary expectation for the position for which such person is applying.”

Noncompliant employers would be subject to a fine ranging from $1,000 to $5,000.

Montana

Legislative Council Bill 0120, introduced Jan. 15 by Democratic Sen. Shane Morigeau, is meant to “revise laws relating to wage transparency.”

The bill, if passed, would require employers to:

  • Disclose salary or wage ranges in all job postings, including internal transfers and promotions;
  • Maintain records of job descriptions and wage histories for each employee;
  • Keep these records for two years after employment ends; and,
  • Refrain from asking candidates about past salaries or use that information in hiring decisions.

Noncompliant employers would face fines up to $10,000 per violation.

Oregon

House Bill 2746, introduced Jan. 13 by three Democratic senators, was tabbed “new laws regarding pay transparency.”

The bill, if passed, would require employers to:

  • Include certain wage and benefit information in job postings for job, promotion and transfer opportunities; and,
  • Maintain certain employment records for each employee.

Noncompliant employers would be subject to “civil penalties” administered by the Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor; however, specific fine ranges are not listed.

Virginia

Senate Bill 1132, introduced Jan. 7 by Democratic Sen. Jennifer Boysko, is labeled “prospective employees; prohibiting employer seeking wage or salary history.” Similar legislation was introduced and passed in 2024 but was vetoed by Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin.

If passed and signed into law this time, it would prohibit employers from:

  • Seeking the wage or salary history of a prospective employee;
  • Relying on the wage or salary history of a prospective employee in determining the wages or salary the prospective employee is to be paid upon hire;
  • Relying on the wage or salary history of a prospective employee in considering the prospective employee for employment;
  • Refusing to interview, hire, employ or promote a prospective employee or otherwise retaliating against a prospective employee for not providing wage or salary history; and
  • Failing or refusing to disclose in each public and internal posting for each job, promotion, transfer or other employment opportunity the wage, salary, or wage or salary range.

Employers that violate the law would face fines of $1,000 to $10,000 — or actual damages, whichever is greater.

Editor’s Note: Additional Content

For more information and resources related to this article, see the pages below, which offer quick access to all WorldatWork content on these topics:

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