Boston — Governor Maura Healey has signed into law a piece of legislation aimed at increasing pay equity and transparency throughout the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
The new law, known as An Act relative to salary range transparency (H.4890), requires employers with 25 or more employees to disclose pay ranges in job postings, provide the pay range for a position to employees who are offered a promotion or transfer, and, upon request, share the pay range with employees who already hold the position or are applying for it. Employees will also be protected from retaliation when requesting salary ranges while applying for jobs or going for promotions.
“This new law is an important next step toward closing wage gaps, especially for People of Color and women,” Governor Healey said in a statement. “It will also strengthen the ability of Massachusetts employers to build diverse, talented teams.”
The legislation also requires larger employers, those with 100 or more employees, to submit wage data reports to the state. These reports will be published in the aggregate by the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development.
Senator Joan B. Lovely (D-Salem), the Senate Chair of the Women’s Caucus, emphasized the importance of the new law in promoting transparency in the job market. “This bill marks a crucial step forward for transparent advertising in job postings that will help close the equity gap in fair and open hiring practices, to assure applicants and prospective hires are treated equally as they make future career choices,” she said.
An Act relative to salary range transparency is designed to advance efforts to close the wage gap in Massachusetts and ensure fair compensation for all workers, regardless of gender, race, or background. This new law builds on the Massachusetts Equal Pay Act (MEPA), which was updated and went into effect on July 1, 2018. Although Massachusetts became the first state in the country to pass an equal pay law in 1945, the gender pay gap persists both here and across the nation. On average, women working full-time in Massachusetts today earn 84.3% of the earnings of men.
The legislation has been acknowledged by leaders in North Central Massachusetts, including Representative Danielle Gregoire (D-Marlborough), who noted its potential to identify and address wage inequities. “Salary range transparency and improved wage and workforce data collection will help identify gender and racial wage gaps so that we may continue to do the work of leveling the playing field in the workplace,” she said.
The Attorney General’s Office has been granted enforcement authority, which means that employers who violate the law may be subject to fines or civil citations.
