Beginning October 1, 2024, Maryland will require employers to disclose wage ranges and “other compensation” in job postings and upon the request of an applicant in an effort to promote greater wage transparency in the hiring process. The Maryland Wage Range Transparency Act amends the state’s existing law prohibiting employers from making salary history inquiries to now include these job posting wage transparency requirements. Maryland joins a growing number of states that have passed job posting pay disclosure requirements, including California, Colorado, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Minnesota, Nevada, New York, Rhode Island, and Washington.

Maryland’s new pay disclosure requirements apply both to external and internal job postings and cover any solicitation intended to recruit applicants for a specific available position. It also applies to any job posting for a job where work will be “physically performed at least in part” in Maryland but does not explain what “in part” means, leaving employers to guess if a single day or several months meets the test, or whether a remote worker who comes to periodic meetings in Maryland is covered. 

The wage range must be set by the employer in good faith with the minimum and maximum hourly rate or salary being offered for the position based on comparable positions. The new law also requires employers to disclose “other compensation” offered but does not specify what that category specifically entails, leaving employers also to guess if bonus, commissions, PTO, or other benefits must be disclosed. In addition to the new law’s job posting disclosures, employers must provide compensation and wage range information to job applicants before any discussion regarding compensation and at any other time upon request of the applicant.

The new law expands existing anti-retaliation protections for applicants and employees, providing enhanced protections for applicants who refuse to provide wage history information. Finally, the new law establishes a recordkeeping requirement obligating employers to maintain records showing their compliance with the disclosure requirements for at least three years.

The Maryland Commissioner of Labor and Industry has authority to enforce the requirements of the law and issue civil penalties of up to $600 for each employee or applicant for whom the required information was not provided. While the law requires the Maryland Commissioner of Labor and Industry to create and publish a template pay disclosure form for employers to use for job postings, the agency has not yet done so.

In light of these new requirements, employers should carefully review their job posting and hiring practices to ensure compliance. If you have any questions on how to comply with these new requirements, need assistance developing policies and procedures to adjust for such changes, or have other questions regarding your workforce, please contact Noah Oberlander at noberlander@reedsmith.com, or the Reed Smith lawyer with whom you normally work.