Pay transparency laws 2027: new rules for posting salary ranges

Pay transparency laws 2027 are already reshaping how employers write job ads, and the calendar is filling up fast. Connecticut's expanded posting rule took effect on October 1, Columbus, Ohio, starts enforcing its salary-range ordinance on January 1, 2027, and Delaware's law follows in September 2027. If you hire in any of those places, or post remote roles that reach them, now is the time to tidy up how you publish pay.

What changed in Connecticut on October 1

Connecticut has required employers to share wage ranges since 2021, but mostly on request or at the offer stage. Public Act 26-12, signed by Governor Ned Lamont in May 2026, moves that information into the job ad itself. According to a September 2026 analysis by Foley & Lardner, the key changes are:

• Every posting, every employer. Internal and external postings must include the wage range and a general description of benefits, regardless of company size. That covers job boards, intranet listings and internally circulated emails.
• A good-faith standard. The wage range is now defined as the range an employer sets in good faith for the position.
• Broad benefits. Benefits include health insurance, retirement, paid leave and other non-wage compensation.
• Reach beyond the state line. The rules cover jobs performed in Connecticut and out-of-state roles that report to a Connecticut supervisor or worksite.
• Pay code guides. Employers with 100 or more workers must publish a guide explaining overtime and common pay differential codes, in English, Spanish and the most common language in the workforce.

Applicants and employees can bring a private lawsuit within two years of an alleged violation, so a missing range is no longer a paperwork issue.

Pay transparency laws 2027: Columbus and Delaware

Two more deadlines sit on the 2027 calendar.

Columbus, Ohio: enforcement starts January 1, 2027

Columbus Ordinance 2898-2025 took effect in December 2025, but the city delayed enforcement until January 1, 2027, according to Ogletree Deakins. Employers with 15 or more employees in the city, and the agencies that recruit for them, must include a reasonable salary range or scale in job postings.

The ordinance does not set a formula for "reasonable." Instead it lists factors such as budget flexibility, the experience applicants may bring, differences in job duties, growth opportunities, local cost of living and market data. Internal transfers and promotions, union roles and postings copied without permission are excluded. The city's Community Relations Commission handles enforcement.

Ohio has no statewide law, but Columbus joins Cleveland, Cincinnati and Toledo with local rules of their own.

Delaware: September 26, 2027

Delaware's law, signed in September 2025, applies to employers with more than 25 employees, as summarized in the National Law Review. Internal and external postings must show an hourly or salary range plus a general description of benefits and other compensation. It also covers remote roles offered by Delaware-based employers.

A first violation brings a written warning. Repeat violations can carry civil penalties of $500 to $10,000, and the width of a posted range is one factor in judging whether it was set in good faith.

The wider map employers are working with

Connecticut and Columbus are the newest pieces of a large patchwork. A July 2026 review by Bradley Arant Boult Cummings counted 16 states with pay transparency laws in effect as of August 1, 2026, plus Washington, D.C., and a string of local ordinances in New York and Ohio. Two of those state laws arrived this summer:

• Virginia (July 1, 2026): nearly every employer must include the wage, salary or range in public and internal postings. Employers get 15 business days to fix a flagged posting before a lawsuit can proceed.
• Maine (July 29, 2026): employers with 10 or more employees must post the expected pay range, and commission-only roles must say so.

Existing laws keep tightening, too. California now defines its required pay scale as a good-faith estimate of what the employer reasonably expects to pay, aimed at stopping overly wide ranges, according to Baker Donelson. In New Jersey, the labor department's proposed rules would ban open-ended ranges such as "$60,000 and up" and cap the spread at 60% of the minimum. Check the current status of those rules with your advisers.

A pay range is no longer a courtesy in a job ad; in many places it is the price of posting one.

How to post pay ranges that hold up

The details vary by jurisdiction, but the same habits keep most employers on safe ground. Talk to an employment lawyer about your specific locations, and use this as a starting checklist.

1. Post a real range with a floor and a ceiling. Avoid "competitive pay," "DOE" or "up to" figures. Several laws and proposed rules expect a genuine minimum and maximum.
2. Base it on something you can explain. Tie the range to your pay bands, what current employees in the same role earn or the approved budget. Write down how you set it.
3. Keep the range honest. A $40,000-to-$140,000 spread invites questions. Ranges should reflect what you actually expect to pay for that role in that location.
4. Describe benefits in plain words. Connecticut, Delaware and others want a general description, such as health coverage, retirement plan, paid time off and any bonus or commission.
5. Treat remote roles carefully. A remote job may be covered because of where the worker lives, where the supervisor sits or where your company is based.
6. Cover internal postings, too. Postings for current staff, circulated by email or intranet, count in Connecticut and Delaware.
7. Check your recruiters and job boards. Agencies posting for you in Columbus are covered, and reposted ads should not drop the range.

Job Elf tip: Build one pay-range field into your job ad template and make it required before anything goes live. Pair it with a one-line benefits summary you reuse across postings, so every ad, internal or external, carries the same compliant basics without anyone having to remember.

What to do this week

• Audit open postings. Pull every live ad that could reach Connecticut, Columbus or a state already covered, and confirm each one shows a range and benefits where required.
• Map your 2027 obligations. Flag any team with 15 or more people in Columbus and any Delaware headcount above 25.
• Get your pay data in order. Clear ranges in job ads tend to prompt questions from current staff, so review internal pay for consistency before those questions arrive.
• Brief hiring managers. Make sure they know not to ask about salary history where it is banned, and how to explain the posted range to candidates.

Posting a range also helps hiring. Candidates who see the pay up front self-select, which saves time for both sides. When you post jobs on Job Elf, put the range at the top of the description so qualified people can decide quickly.

The bottom line

Pay transparency laws 2027 mean more employers must show real, good-faith pay ranges and a benefits summary in nearly every job ad. Connecticut's rule is already live, Columbus begins enforcing on January 1 and Delaware follows next fall. Fix your template now, document how you set ranges and ask an employment lawyer to review your multi-state postings. For more hiring guidance, visit our employer resources.