MA Salary Transparency Law Takes Effect In October

MASSACHUSETTS — The new Massachusetts law requiring businesses and public entities to disclose salary ranges and collect more comprehensive hiring data — designed to increase equity in employment — will take effect late next month.

Gov. Maura Healey signed the Act Relative To Wage Transparency into law last July, with the 15-month ramp-up period allowing businesses to become familiar with and prepare for the new regulations.

"This new law is an important next step toward closing wage gaps, especially for People of Color and women," Healey said at the time. "It will also strengthen the ability of Massachusetts employers to build diverse, talented teams. I want to thank the Legislature, advocates, labor unions, and the business community for their hard work to see this through."

The law takes effect on Oct. 29.

The legislation requires public and private employers with 25 or more employees to disclose pay ranges in job postings, provide the pay range of a position to an employee who is offered a promotion or transfer and, on request, provide the pay range to employees who already hold that position or are applying for it.

The Attorney General’s Office will also be given enforcement authority and the ability to impose fines or civil citations for violations of this law, and employees will receive protections against retaliation for asking for salary ranges when applying for a job or promotion.

The legislation also requires public and private employers with 100 or more employees to submit wage data reports to the state, which will then be published through aggregate wage reports by the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development.

"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," State Senate Chair of the Women's Caucus Joan Lovely (D-Salem) said.

Penalties for non-compliance escalate with the first offense is a warning, second offense up to $500, third offense up to $1,000, and the fourth or subsequent offenses up to $25,000.

For the first two years, employers have two business days after notice to cure violations before a fine is imposed.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)