Most WA employers required by law to list pay in ads. Here’s what you need to know
As of Jan. 1, many Washington state employers are now required to list clearer details about compensation on most job ads due to recently ratified legislation.
The regulations, outlined in ESSB 5761, revises sections of the 2018 Washington Equal Pay and Opportunities Act by setting stricter guidelines for businesses with 15 or more employees on wage transparency.
The law now requires employers to indicate a job’s minimum and maximum salary or wage, as well as all benefits and other forms of compensation, on both physical and electronic listings. The legislation defines a “posting” as “any solicitation intended to recruit job applicants for a specific available position, including recruitment done directly by an employer or indirectly through a third party.”
Before the legislation took effect, employers just had to provide information on pay to candidates initially offered a job, and only if the candidate requested it. Additionally, companies only had to provide a position’s minimum wage or salary.
The rules also slightly alter how salary information is communicated to employees who receive a promotion offer or a different company position. These workers are still guaranteed a pay range, but only if they request it.
The legislation’s prior wording stated that if an employer had no existing pay range for a job then it must provide an employee with a minimum wage or a salary expectation. Additionally, unlike job advertisements one might see on third-party sites or at career fairs, internal job postings still don’t have to show wage scales.
Businesses must tweak their listings to comply with the new regulations, legal experts say.
Catherine Morisset, a partner at the Seattle law firm Fisher & Phillips, and firm associate Dean Petitta offer tips companies can take to adopting the state’s requirements. Among the tips: Consider auditing your company’s existing employee salaries so that new job posts contain accurate compensation metrics.
This story was originally published January 5, 2023 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Most WA employers required by law to list pay in ads. Here’s what you need to know."
