Understanding The Pay Transparency Law Of Massachusetts [2026 Guide]

Today’s topic: Massachusetts Pay Transparency Law.

Pay transparency laws seek to diminish the gender, race, and other group classification pay disparities that exist in the U.S.

Although there is a clear understanding of gender and racial pay disparities at the macro level, we cannot say the same at the micro level.

For instance, a woman may have a firm suspicion that her company is paying her male workmates more than she is for the same work. However, to have a good case for this disparity could be very challenging.

Since it has been considered ill-mannered to discuss wages historically, the probability is that her colleagues will not reveal their salary figures even if she asks.

Hence, huge obstacles are there for a woman who is suspicious that her employer is not paying her equally for the work she is doing, and yet she has no physical proof.

In this blog, I will be talking about the following things:

• What is the pay transparency law?
• Understanding the Massachusetts pay transparency law.
• Key requirements for employers.
• Does the Massachusetts pay transparency law cover remote workers?
• Enforcement and penalties.

Therefore, if these are what you want to know, keep on reading till the end!

Note: After reading this blog, if you feel like your company is violating the pay transparency law, you can get in touch with Ballin Law Massachusetts Law Firm. They can help you out!

What Is Pay Transparency Law?

Pay transparency laws require employers to share wage information with employees and job applicants under certain circumstances.

Cornell Law School mentions that the laws differ in size and scope. For example, some laws require employers to disclose wage information publicly, whereas others limit the disclosure to only applicants or employees.

For instance, a few pay transparency laws require employers to clearly state wage information in their job advertisements.

In such cases, the information must include salary ranges and/or other forms of compensation and benefits.

On the other hand, a large number of pay transparency laws only require employers to reveal wage information to job applicants at some stage of the recruitment process, for example:

• After the first interview.
• When internal employees change their roles.
• When internal employees get a promotion.
• At the time of the offer.
• At the time of hiring.

The most lenient versions of these laws are those that require employers to comply with wage disclosure requests from applicants or employees.

Hence, the employer does not need to disclose the salary information automatically, but only upon request.

Basically, all pay transparency laws grant employees and applicants a certain amount of salary disclosure through different channels.

Understanding Massachusetts Pay Transparency Law

On July 31, 2024, Massachusetts enacted salary range transparency legislation (“An Act Relative to Salary Range Transparency”) that imposes salary disclosure requirements on Massachusetts employers.

The Act took effect on October 29, 2025. Employers with more than 25 employees in Massachusetts must now disclose salary range information on job postings and provide pay range information to current employees in certain circumstances.

Additionally, employers with more than 100 employees in Massachusetts must submit EEO and pay data to the Commonwealth annually for the purposes of aggregated public reporting by the Massachusetts Department of Labor.

Key Requirements For Employers

The law establishes two primary compliance areas based on employee headcount: 

Pay Range Disclosures (Effective October 29, 2025):

Effective October 29, 2025, employers (public and private) with at least twenty-five (25) employees located in Massachusetts must disclose pay ranges in job postings (both internal and external).

Additionally, pay ranges will be provided for positions upon request and for promotions or transfers.

The pay range must reflect the employer’s good-faith expectation regarding pay. Bonuses and benefits do not need to be reported. However, commissions and piece rates, if relevant, must be disclosed.

Pay Data Reporting (Effective February 1, 2025):

Employers with at least 100 employees who are required to submit EEO reports (equal employment opportunity) to the federal government must report demographic and pay data annually to the Commonwealth through an EEO Data Reporting Portal.

Additionally, individual employer data will not be available to the public. However, the state will publish aggregate industry data by no later than July 1 of each year.

Does Massachusetts Pay Transparency Law Cover Remote Workers?

Yes, the Massachusetts Pay Transparency Law includes remote workers if their job is connected to the state.

The law, which was completely enforced on October 29, 2025, is relevant to jobs that fulfill one or the other of the following characteristics:

• Main Location of Work: The job is mainly done in Massachusetts. Here is included a remote worker who is physically located in the state, even if they work for an out-of-state company.
• Reporting to a MA Worksite: The work is done remotely, but the person reports to or is assigned to a Massachusetts-based worksite or office. This is also true if the worker is in another state.

Key Compliance Details For Remote Roles

Here are some of the main compliance aspects for remote roles and pay transparency laws:

• Employer Threshold: This legislation is applicable to both private and public employers. Hence, it would also be relevant to individuals with over 25 employees in Massachusetts. Remote employees whose primary place of work is in Massachusetts are included in the 25, employee threshold count.
• Posting Requirements: The employees covered by the law must be sure that they add an honest pay range in any advertisement or job posting.
• Request Rights: Both job candidates and current staff (including remote workers) have the right to ask for the pay range of their job.
• Enforcement: The Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office is the enforcer of the law. It is given a 48-hour grace period to fix the issues. And in this period, the first year of enforcement, only after being notified of the violations.

Massachusetts Pay Transparency Law: Enforcement And Penalties To Know About

Only the Attorney General’s Office in Massachusetts has authority over the enforcement of the Massachusetts Pay Transparency Act. Apart from this body, no individual or employee can file suit themselves.

The Attorney General can request a court order to require performance from employers. Or penalize companies with fines that are as follows:

• First offense: warning; 
• Second offense: maximum of $500.
• Third offense: maximum of $1,000.
• Fourth and subsequent offenses: Additionally, civil fines of $7,500 to $25,000 per violation, depending upon each case.

Nothing in the Act will allow retaliation against an applicant or employee for exercising rights protected under the Act.

Examples of this include requests for pay ranges of positions, contacting either the employer or the Attorney General with complaints. Or initiating or participating in a filing with the Attorney General against the employer under the Act.