Massachusetts companies with more than 25 employees must disclose salary ranges when posting job openings, under a new bill signed into law Wednesday, which brings the state in line with 10 other states that already require pay transparency.
The new law also protects a worker’s right to ask his or her employer what the salary range is when applying for a job or seeking a promotion.
“This new law is an important step toward closing wage gaps, especially for people of color and women,” Democratic Gov. Maura Healey said in a written statement after signing the bill. “It will also strengthen the ability of Massachusetts employers to build diverse and talented workforces.”
Healey’s signing 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.
Supporters said the new law builds on a 2016 state statute that banned pay discrimination based on gender.
“Massachusetts is now one step closer to ensuring equal pay for equal work,” said Democratic House Speaker Ronald Mariano after Lawmakers sent the bill to Healey last week. “Not only will pay transparency 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 common for women and people of color to be paid less than their male co-workers across the country, and Massachusetts is not immune.
The director of Associated Industries of Massachusetts, which calls itself the state’s largest business association, praised lawmakers for working with advocacy and business groups to craft a final compromise version of the bill.
“AIM believes these important policy changes strike the right balance between promoting open and honest communication about wages without burdening our employers with burdensome and time-consuming reporting requirements,” AIM President Brooke Thomson said after the final draft legislation was published.
The law also requires businesses with more than 100 employees to share their federal wage and workforce data reports with the state’s Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development. The agency is responsible for collecting and publishing aggregate wage and workforce data to help identify gender and racial wage gaps by industry.
The Attorney General’s Office will also have the authority to impose fines or civil citations for violations of the law, and employees will be protected from retaliation for asking for salary ranges when applying for a job or promotion.
The Attorney General will conduct a public awareness campaign about the new rules.
In the Boston metropolitan area, the gender pay gap in 2023 was 21 cents, according to 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.
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