Dear Readers: The past few years, laws in certain areas of the country have required employers to disclose salaries in job postings. Is this “display the pay” movement helping job seekers achieve pay equity?

Salary conversations have definitely changed over the past few years — and for the better — to help job seekers and employers strive for and hopefully ultimately reach pay equity. Although we’re still early in the game to pay transparency, and I haven’t seen data to support it, anecdotally, it seems we’re moving in the right direction.

It used to be a major faux pas for candidates to ask about salary until the final job interview or even in the offer stage. As a recruiter, I was required to ask about candidates’ salary expectations up front, during the first interview to ensure both parties, the employer and job seeker, were at least on the same page within a range to be cognizant of everyone’s time and effort. Many job seekers felt reluctant to share information and without knowing what the employer’s range was, they felt short-changed and may have also fallen short of the range, underselling their salary expectations.

Recent legislation changes have changed the conversation to becoming transparent, even before the job seeker applies and as more workers talk among themselves about salary for full transparency — this is becoming the norm rather than the exception. For instance, in November 2022 a law went into effect in New York City requiring employers who have four or more employees to include salary ranges for a minimum and maximum amount in advertisements for jobs, promotions or transfers for opportunities located in the city where at least one of the employees works in New York City.

Other locations have similar laws with some tweaks: California, Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts (effective Oct. 29, 2025), Minnesota (effective Jan. 1, 2025), Nevada, New Jersey (Jersey City only), New York state (and Albany, Ithaca, New York City, Westchester County), Ohio (Cincinnati and Toledo only), Rhode Island, Vermont (effective July 1, 2025) and Washington.

Even if laws aren’t enacted in the rest of the country, many employers are voluntarily following suit. It’s good for them and it’s good for job seekers.

Job seekers expect to see salary ranges; and if they’re not included in job ads, they want to know salaries early in the interview process. This doesn’t mean they should only rely on this information to know their worth (and yes, they should still negotiate job offers even when they know what the range or specific salary will be during the interview process). They should contact a former boss, mentors, colleagues in other companies, the local chapter of professional organizations and more to better determine salary requirements based on their skills, education and experiences and then see where that magic number falls within the opportunities to pursue.

Tribune News Service