Your recruiter posts a pay range. Within a week, a five-year employee notices she sits below the bottom of it. She asks her manager why. The manager, who didn’t set the range and has never seen how it was built, says, “Let me look into it.”
Nobody broke a law in that story. The posting was compliant. It was still a bad day for trust.
That’s the part of pay transparency most compliance checklists miss. The rules ask you to publish a number. Your people will ask you to explain it.
Where things stand
For years the headline was that pay transparency was coming. For most employers, it has arrived.
As of August 2026, 16 states plus Washington, D.C. have statewide pay transparency laws in effect, with Virginia and Maine joining over the summer. Connecticut moved from disclosure on request to ranges in job postings on October 1. Delaware follows in September 2027. Cities like Cleveland and Columbus have their own ordinances in a state with no statewide law. There is still no federal standard, so what you have is a patchwork.
The patchwork reaches further than the map suggests. Many of these laws can apply to remote roles that could be filled by someone living in a covered state, wherever you’re headquartered.
And if you have people in Europe, the EU Pay Transparency Directive adds another layer. Member states had until June 7, 2026 to write it into national law. Most haven’t finished, and the European Commission has said the deadline won’t be extended. Employers with more than 100 workers will report on gender pay gaps and be expected to correct unexplained gaps of 5% or more.
What the rules actually ask for
The details vary by state, but most ask for the same few things:
• A good-faith pay range. In the job posting in states like California, Colorado, and New York. On request, after an interview, or at the point of hire in others.
• More than base pay. Colorado, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, and Washington also ask for benefits or other compensation.
• Internal moves, too. Massachusetts, for example, covers promotions and transfers, not only outside hires.
The phrase that matters is good faith. A good-faith range is the one you actually intend to pay. Which means it has to come from somewhere.
What’s missing
Most organizations can produce a range. Market data is easy to buy. This isn’t a data problem.
It’s a decision problem. Fewer organizations can answer the questions a published range invites. Why this range for this job? Why is this employee sitting at a certain point in the range? What would move them up?
If those answers live in one analyst’s spreadsheet, or in a study from three years ago, the range is a number without a reason. It was a black box before, now it’s a black box in public.
How to get ahead of it
1. Know where you’re covered. Map where you hire, where your people live, and which rules apply. Confirm the specifics with employment counsel.
2. Build ranges you’d be comfortable publishing everywhere. Start with a pay philosophy and a consistent way of leveling jobs. One standard you can defend is easier to run than seventeen you can’t.
3. Look inside before anyone else does. Compare current employees to the ranges. Find who sits below the minimum and where new-hire pay has crept past tenured pay. Plan the adjustments.
4. Give managers the words. A plain-language account of how ranges are built, how people are placed in them, and how pay moves.
That last step is where most comp work stops short, and it’s where we spend much of our time at Cura. The work ends with ranges, and also with the reasoning made visible and talking points managers can use, so the people having the pay conversations can stand behind them.
From reacting to ready
The laws will keep changing. Another state, another effective date, another amendment. Chasing each one is reacting.
A comp structure you can explain doesn’t have to be rebuilt every time a statute changes. The posting requirement becomes the easy part, because the hard part (the reasoning) is already done and already in your managers’ hands.
If it’s helpful, here’s more on how we approach compensation work. And if you’d like to compare notes on where you stand, we’re easy to reach.
This post is general information, not legal advice.
