Massachusetts businesses with more than 25 employees must disclose salary ranges when posting jobs, under a new bill signed into law Wednesday that puts the commonwealth in line with 10 other states that already require pay transparency.
The new law also protects a worker’s right to ask their employer for the salary range when applying for a job or seeking a promotion.
“This new law is an important next step toward closing wage gaps, especially for People of Color and women,” Gov. Maura Healey, a Democrat, said in a written statement after signing the bill. “It will also strengthen the ability of Massachusetts employers to build diverse, talented teams.”
Healey’s signature makes Massachusetts the 11th state to mandate pay transparency by requiring employers to disclose salary ranges, supporters said, citing data from the National Women’s Law Center.
Backers said the new law builds on a 2016 state statute that prohibited wage discrimination based on gender.
“Massachusetts is now one step closer to ensuring equal pay for equal work,” Democratic House Speaker Ronald Mariano said after lawmakers sent the bill to Healey last week. “Pay transparency will not only make our workplaces more equitable, it will also make Massachusetts more competitive with other states.”
Democratic Senate President Karen Spilka said last week that it’s too common for women and people of color to be paid less than their co-workers nationwide, and Massachusetts is not immune.
The head of Associated Industries of Massachusetts, which bills itself as the state’s largest business association, credited lawmakers with working with advocacy and business groups to hammer out a final compromise version of the bill.
“AIM believes these important policy changes strike the right balance by promoting open and honest communication about wages while not overburdening our employers with cumbersome and time-consuming reporting requirements,” AIM President Brooke Thomson said after the final bill was released.
The law also requires businesses with more than 100 employees to share their federal wage and workforce data reports with the state Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development. The agency is responsible for compiling and publishing aggregated wage and workforce data to help identify gender and racial wage gaps by industry.
The Attorney General’s Office will also be given the authority to impose fines or civil citations for violations of the law, and employees will receive protections against retaliation for asking for salary ranges when applying for a job or promotion.
The attorney general will conduct a public awareness campaign on the new rules.
In Greater Boston, the 2023 gender wage gap was 21 cents, according to the Boston Women’s Workforce Council. Black women faced a 54-cent wage gap, while Hispanic and Latina women faced a 52-cent wage gap, and Asian women faced a 19-cent wage gap, according to the group.
