Now more than ever it’s the candidate who is interviewing us, rather than the other way around. As a result, Salary Transparency laws are being passed quickly around the nation. Why?
If a job seeker does not have the salary information for the job posting they are viewing, they are unable to efficiently evaluate the pay for the position, negotiate that pay, and compare that pay to other open positions in the marketplace.
Here’s a look at some of the recent changes and how to navigate through them to attract great talent:
In 2023, Washington passed a law that says all jobs must include:
- A wage scale or salary range
- A general description of all offered benefits
- Any additional compensation an employee may be eligible for
- If the employer is posting for a position that is compensated through commissions, the employer must include the commission rate in the job posting (e.g. 5-7% of sales).
The law also states that employers may not avoid providing wage and salary information in a job posting by stating that the employer will not consider Washington applicants. This includes job postings for positions that are Fully Remote.
In regard to the new law a layer wrote:
“If the employer is not posting any pay ranges, is posting overly broad ranges, like $50,000 to $200,000, or open-ended ranges, like $70,000 and up, it should not be that hard to show that it’s an employer practice to disregard the law.”
Damages can be up to $5,000 per applicant, regardless of if they suffer actual damages, and they can also recover attorneys fees. There is clearly an incentive to find job ads that are violating these new laws so save yourself the headache and ensure you post the pay with the required salary transparency.
For roles with a Base Salary and Commission, here is how we advise breaking the salary down:
“Base Salary of $XX,XXX to $XX,XXX depending on experience. First year applicants can expect to earn an additional $XX,XXX in commission and our top earner made an additional $XX,XXX in commission last year.”
Don’t list a maximum range that is more than 1.5X the minimum expected salary (e.g. if the minimum is $40k, the max should be no more than $60k.)
With all of this information, any experience-level applicant can look at your ad and get the right information for what they can expect to earn, all while ensuring you are complying with new legislation.