Connecticut Bill Would Require Employers to List Salary Ranges in Job Postings
Author: Michael Cardman, HR & Compliance Center Senior Legal Editor
March 15, 2023
Connecticut employers would be required to disclose salary ranges in job postings under a bill recently introduced in the state legislature.
If HB 6273 is enacted, Connecticut would join California, Colorado, New York and other states and cities that require employers to disclose the pay range for a position.
Connecticut already requires employers to:
- Disclose the wage range for a position to a job applicant - either at the applicant's request or before they make an offer of compensation, whichever comes first; and
- Provide the wage range for an employee's position upon hiring, upon a change in the employee's position with the employer, or at the employee's first request.
HB 6273 would extend those requirements to include disclosure of salary ranges in "public and internal job postings."
It is not yet clear what the penalties would be for non-compliance. The bill is still being drafted and will likely fall under the same enforcement mechanisms as the existing pay transparency requirements (i.e., compensatory damages, attorney fees and costs, punitive damages and other legal and equitable relief, with a two-year statute of limitations), Rep. Kate Farrar, one of the bill's co-sponsors, told HR & Compliance Center.
At a February hearing, opponents of the bill argued it would limit employers' flexibility to adjust a position to suit a candidate or in response to a change in their fiscal outlook. "Although well intended, the likely outcome of this legislation is lost opportunities for job seekers," said Eric Gjede of the Connecticut Business & Industry Association.
Proponents argued that the bill would help give business a competitive edge. Including pay ranges in job postings helps employers attract talent and stay competitive, said Andrea Johnson of the National Women's Law Center, citing 2021 research from a data analytics firm.