Minnesota to require salary range and benefit disclosures in job postings 

May 23, 2024

On May 17, 2024, Minnesota’s governor signed legislation (SF 3852) that will require employers with 30 or more employees at one or more sites in Minnesota to disclose salary, other compensation and benefits information in job postings. The revisions take effect Jan. 1, 2025, and will make Minnesota the eighth state (and Washington, DC) to require pay disclosures in job postings. Beginning Jan. 1, 2024, Minnesota prohibited inquiries into the pay history of job applicants.

Employer defined. “Employer" means a person or entity that employs 30 or more employees at one or more sites in Minnesota and includes an individual, corporation, partnership, association, nonprofit organization, group of persons, state, county, town, city, school district, or other governmental subdivision.

Disclosure. Employers shall disclose in each posting for each job opening the starting salary range, and a general description of all additional compensation and benefits, including but not limited to any health or retirement benefits, to be offered to a new hire. 

An employer that does not plan to offer a salary range for a position must list a fixed pay rate. A salary range may not be open ended.

Posting defined. A “posting” is 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, and includes any postings made electronically or via printed copy, that include qualifications for desired candidates.

Salary range defined. A “salary range” is the minimum and maximum annual salary or hourly range of compensation based on the employer’s good faith estimate at the time the job is posted.

Minnesota’s pay transparency requirements are not effective until Jan. 1, 2025, but several states have enacted legislation requiring the disclosure of salary ranges and pay data in recent years. For example, in New York an employer, employment agency, employee or agent thereof must include compensation or the compensation range when advertising a job, promotion or transfer opportunity that will physically (at least in part) be performed in New York. California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Nevada, Rhode Island, Washington and Washington, DC, also require, or will require, employers to disclose — voluntarily or upon request — information about salary ranges for open positions or promotions. Other states, such as Massachusetts, are considering similar legislation.

In addition to states requiring disclosure of pay ranges, states such as Colorado are focused on increasing the visibility of job opportunities to employees and candidates. In addition to including pay information on postings, they want to ensure potential candidates are aware of such postings.

For more information, please refer to the Roundup: US employer resources on states’ recent equal pay laws.

Assess readiness: review the compensation foundation for the following

• Are jobs clearly defined?
• Is pay aligned to pay philosophy and market?
• Has the organization’s pay equity been analyzed?
• Are managers equipped to communicate pay ranges?

Set your destination: address key questions around where you’re headed

• What will be shared (e.g., what elements of pay and total rewards)?
• Who will it be shared with — all employees, managers only, certain segments, only to candidates?
• How will it be shared?

Plan for the journey: address gaps and risks in your current environment

• Job structures
• Gaps in pay equity and competitiveness
• Talent acquisition and employee communication technology
• Manager education and resources

Share the story: address gaps and risks in the current environment

• Job structures
• Gaps in pay equity and competitiveness
• Talent acquisition and employee communication technology
• Manager education and resources

Measure the impact: assess success through data and insights

• Applicants per opening, time to fill, offer acceptance rates
• Candidate surveys
• Employee engagement and perceptions
• Statistical modeling around turnover and other outcomes

• SF 3852 (Legislature)
• Section 363A.08 Unfair discriminatory practices relating to employment or unfair employment practice (Minnesota statutes)

• Roundup: US employer resources on states’ recent equal pay laws (regularly updated)
• Maryland to require wage range and benefit disclosures in job postings (May 14, 2024)
• Washington, DC, to enhance wage transparency (May 14, 2024)
• Colorado amends equal pay requirements (Dec. 13, 2023)
• Illinois to require pay scale and benefits disclosure in job postings (Aug. 28, 2023)
• Hawaii to require pay disclosure in job listings, expands equal pay law (July 18, 2023)
• New York to require salary ranges in job postings (March 9, 2023) 
• California to impose more salary disclosure, pay data reporting (Oct. 3, 2022)
• Salary information will be required in New York City job postings (May 4, 2022)
• Washington regulator clarifies new pay disclosure requirements (Dec. 19, 2019)