Q&A: Is a salary range required if the position is remote?

Do we need to include a salary range if the position is remote? I know some states pay transparency laws that require including salary information in the job advertisement. I’m not in one of those states but am looking for guidance in terms of remote job postings.

Generally, the jurisdictions with pay range disclosure laws have taken the position that the laws apply if a covered employer advertises a job that could be performed by an employee in the state or city with the pay range disclosure law. The information below outlines thresholds for employer coverage as well as guidance issued by the jurisdiction regarding job advertisements for remote workers.

California

Effective January 1, 2023, employers with 15 or more employees must include a pay scale in their job postings. The California labor commissioner has issued guidance clarifying that an employer with at least one employee in California is covered by the pay range disclosure law if the employer has at least 15 employees in total, including out-of-state employees.

The California labor commissioner has interpreted the law to mean that the pay scale must be included in a job posting if the position “may ever be filled in California, either in-person or remotely.”

Colorado

The law requires all employers with at least one employee in the state to disclose compensation and benefits information in job postings for jobs that can be performed in Colorado.

The Colorado Department of Labor Enforcement (CDLE) has issued a notice expressly stating:

“Remote jobs are clearly covered by the Act’s pay disclosure requirement, regardless of an employer’s expressed intent not to hire Coloradans.” Failing to disclose pay in any remote job posting is illegal, subjecting employers to investigations that, if a violation is shown, can yield orders to cease and correct violations, as well as fines for those not correcting practices even after being informed they are unlawful.

Remote jobs are clearly covered by the Act’s pay disclosure provision: Any employer with any Colorado staff “shall disclose compensation in each posting for each job” — unambiguous language with no exception for remote jobs, precluding any agency or court from exempting such jobs. The sole relevant exception the Division found implied in the Act is narrow: Jobs performable only at out-of-state sites may be beyond the reach of Colorado law, so covered employers need not disclose pay for jobs at, for example, Phoenix rather than Denver stores. In contrast, covered employers posting remote work performable anywhere, not just at out-of-state sites, are not beyond the reach of Colorado law.

Excluding Coloradans from a remote job is not a description of where work is performable, it is a preference among applicants, and labor law requirements are mandatory, not optional based on employer preference. Thus, when employers covered by the Act post remote jobs covered by the Act, declaring a preference not to hire Coloradans does not eliminate the Act’s pay disclosure duty.

Hawaii

Effective January 1, 2024, employers with at least 50 employees must include a salary range or hourly wage rate in job postings that accurately reflect what they expect to pay for the role. The law does not apply to job listings for internal transfers or promotions or public employee positions for which compensation is determined by collective bargaining. The Hawaii law is silent regarding whether it applies to remote positions.

Illinois

Effective January 1, 2025, employers with 15 or more employees must include pay scale and benefits information in job postings (820 ILCS 112/10 (b-25)). The term “pay scale and benefits” means the wage or salary, or the wage or salary range, and a general description of the benefits and other compensation, including bonuses, stock options, or other incentives the employer reasonably expects in good faith to offer for the position. The Illinois law applies to any positions that will be physically performed, at least in part, in Illinois or will be physically performed outside of Illinois, but the employee reports to a supervisor, office, or work site in Illinois.

New York

Effective September 17, 2023, employers with four or more employees must disclose the pay range for an advertised job, promotion, or transfer opportunity that can or will be performed, at least in part, in the state, including those that will physically be performed outside the state but report to a supervisor, office, or other work site in New York (NY Labor Law § 194-b).

New York City

The effective date of the salary disclosure law is November 1, 2022. Under the law, employers in New York City with four or more employees are required to provide the minimum and maximum annual salary or hourly wage for any job advertised (NYC Admin. Code § 8-107(32)). Guidance issued by the NYCCHR clarified that if an employer has at least four employees (regardless of location) and one employee works in the city, the employer is covered. The guidance states: “Any advertisement for a job, promotion, or transfer opportunity that would be performed in New York City is covered by the new law.”

The law does not apply to positions that cannot or will not be performed, at least in part, in New York City. Because the law applies to positions that can be performed in the city, it applies to remote positions.

Washington

Effective January 1, 2023, employers with 15 or more employees must disclose in each posting the wage scale or salary range and a general description of all the benefits and other compensation to be offered to the hired applicant (WA Stat. § 49.58.110).

Guidance issued by the Washington Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) clarifies that all employers with 15 or more employees must comply with the pay transparency requirements and that the employee threshold includes employees who do not have a physical presence in the state if the employer has one or more Washington-based employees. Employers are covered even if they do not have a physical presence in the state as long as they engage in business in the state or recruit for jobs that could be filled by a Washington-based employee. The guidance expressly states that an employer cannot avoid disclosing wage and salary information requirements “by indicating within a posting that the employer will not accept Washington applicants.”

Note from the editor

It is worth noting that the requirement for pay disclosure is not limited to those states that have laws affecting job postings. Several states, including Connecticut, Maryland, Nevada, and Rhode Island, require employers to provide pay ranges to applicants either on request or automatically at certain points in the hiring process.

Finally, although the number of jurisdictions requiring pay range disclosure is currently small, millions of potential employees would be excluded from an employer’s applicant pool if the employer opts to exclude jurisdictions like California and New York City.

Although employers may bring legal challenges to the pay range disclosure laws, the prudent approach for an employer is to include required pay information in postings for jobs that may be filled by an employee in a covered jurisdiction.

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