Governor Healey signed a new law on July 31, 2024, that will require many employers in Massachusetts to post salary ranges and regularly report certain compensation data. Through the Frances Perkins Workplace Equity Act, H. 4890, Massachusetts joins 10 other states in requiring employers to disclose salary ranges. The pay-transparency mandate, to be codified as G.L. c. 149, § 105F, is set to take effect a year after the statute’s effective date and applies to employers in the Commonwealth with 25 or more employees. The statute requires employers to disclose a salary range when posting an opening and protects an employee’s right to ask their employer for the salary range when applying for a role, seeking a promotion, or being transferred into a new position. This requirement also appears to apply to third-party staffing agencies.
The statute includes an anti-retaliation provision, prohibiting covered employers from retaliating against employees or applicants because they have “(i) taken action to enforce their rights pursuant to this section; (ii) made any complaint to their employer, an agent of their employer or the attorney general regarding an alleged violation of the [statute]; (iii) instituted, or caused to be instituted, any proceeding under this section; or (iv) testified or is about to testify in any such proceeding.”
Additionally, under G.L. c. 149, § 105E, larger employers (i.e. those with 100 or more employees) will be required to periodically report certain demographic and wage data to the Commonwealth.
