On July 31, 2024, Gov. Healey signed into law An Act Relative to Salary Range Transparency, putting Massachusetts in a growing camp of states with pay transparency laws. Approximately one-third of American workers are now covered by such laws.

The new law has two main parts:

1. Reporting Aggregated Wage Data: Larger employers must report aggregated wage data.
2. Pay Transparency Process: Employers with 25 or more employees must set a pay range for all positions.

Key Provisions

For employers with 25 or more employees:

• Job Postings: All job postings by employers (businesses, nonprofits, government entities, etc.) must include the wage or salary range for the advertised position, effective one year after July 31, 2024.
• Pay Range Definition: A “pay range” as the amount the employer “reasonably and in good faith” expects to pay for the position when the job is posted on either an hourly or salary basis.
• Posting Definition: “Posting” includes any job advertisement or job posting made by a covered employer or indirectly through a third party, such as a recruiter.
• Employee Requests: Employers must share the pay range upon request with employees who are promoted or transferred, employees requesting their current job’s salary range, and employees applying for a new position within the organization.

For employers with 100 or more employees:

• Reporting Requirement: Employers must report specified employment data to the state based on existing EEO reports submitted to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to help track local wage gaps. Public entities must submit these reports every two years.
• Data Publication: Aggregated data will be published based on two-digit NAICS codes.
• Enforcement and Awareness: The Attorney General’s office will enforce the law and begin a public awareness campaign next winter to educate employers about the law.

Penalties

Penalties range from a warning for the first offense to $500 for the second, $1,000 for the third, and up to $25,000 for subsequent offenses.

More Resources

Any AIM member interested in discussing this or any other HR related matter, may call the AIM helpline at 1-800-470-6277 or via email at helpline@aimnet.org.

In addition, AIM HR Solutions will host a webinar on the requirements of the pay transparency law on August 15^th at 1 p.m.