Hiring in 2026 under the Mass. Pay Transparency Act

With the Massachusetts Pay Transparency Act in full swing now, the era of salary secrets is coming to a close. The law’s pay disclosure requirements, which went into effect last fall, require employers with 25+ employees in Massachusetts to disclose pay range information in job postings and to current and prospective employees under certain circumstances, all in an effort to pinpoint and close racial and gender wage gaps. In addition to the pay range disclosures, companies with 100+ employees in Massachusetts are required to submit wage data to the state. 

Here are five rules to keep in mind.

1. Hiring for remote jobs. Covered employers are required to disclose the pay range for all positions where the primary place of work is in Massachusetts. This includes positions that can be done remotely by telecommuting into a Massachusetts worksite and for remote workers working from Massachusetts.

2. Tipped or commission-based employees. When a position’s hourly or salary wage includes piece rate or commission compensation, then the amount a company reasonably expects to pay for that piece rate or commission-based work needs to be included in the job posting’s pay range. The standard is to list the annual salary or hourly wage range that the company reasonably and in good faith expects to pay for such a position at that given time.

3. Disclosing pay information to current employees. Companies are required to provide the pay range for the positions their employees currently hold upon their request. For example, an entry-level electrical engineer can ask HR for the company’s pay range for this position. However, the company does not have to disclose pay ranges outside of this position. If the engineer asked how much their boss made, for instance, the company would not have to disclose that. Companies have to provide a pay range when a current employee is offered a promotion or transfer to a new position with different job responsibilities.

4. Who counts as an applicant? Anyone who applies to a specific position is an applicant under the law. The applicant’s level of qualification does not matter. The pay range disclosure requirement applies to all applicants.

5. Penalties for noncompliance. Massachusetts is the latest in a growing wave of states to embrace pay transparency laws, including Rhode Island, Connecticut, Vermont, and New York. For Massachusetts employers, the message is clear: comply or face penalties.

That being said, until Oct.29, 2027, employers will have two business days to cure defects in their pay range disclosures upon receipt of a Notice to Cure from the Attorney General’s Office. For the law’s pay data reporting requirements, the grace period only lasts until October 29, 2026. After those dates, a first time violation will result in a warning and subsequent fines can start at $500 and go up to $25,000. 

Danielle Jurema Lederman is a partner at Worcester law firm Bowditch & Dewey, working in the firm’s employment & labor practice area.