One trend we see continuing in 2025 is state and local laws requiring employers to be more transparent in how they pay their employees. These requirements come in two varieties. First, more states and cities are requiring private sector employers to disclose the actual pay range for a job to both applicants and employees. This can mean either stating the pay range as part of the application or recruitment process, allowing employees to inquire about that range after hiring, or both. Pay ranges, sometimes called pay scales, are to set forth the reasonable maximum pay that a job would entail, either as a salary or hourly wage, and the minimum the employer would pay. In addition, some jurisdictions, such as Maryland, require a general description of the benefits and any other compensation that is available for the position be stated in the advertisement or recruiting materials. As of the date of this publication, there are 14 states that have implemented a statewide pay transparency law; those states range from the Pacific Northwest (Washington) to the East Coast (Maryland and New York) and include a few cities in between (Cincinnati and Toledo).

In drafting a pay range, employers should list the single fixed rate, such as $25.00 per hour, if the employer plans to offer that to all individuals it hires for a given position. Otherwise, the pay range must include a minimum and maximum the employer believes in good faith it is willing to pay at the time it posts the ad. Critically, most states with pay transparency laws forbid open-ended pay ranges, such as “$20+ an hour”. Further, if the pay rates are different depending on the location (i.e., one rate for New York and another for Colorado), the advertisement should specifically state that as well. Bear in mind that an employer may be subject to a pay transparency law for employees who work in states without a pay transparency law if they report to a supervisor or office in a state with the pay transparency requirement.

Second, and in addition to pay ranges, a state may require specific information be included in an employee’s pay stub. While the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires employers to maintain certain information about its employees, it does not regulate what is on an employee’s pay stub. Instead, the FLSA allows states to determine that on their own, thus, the information required will vary from state to state. For instance, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania requires employers to put on a paycheck stub: the employee’s wages; hours worked; rates paid; gross wages; allowances, if any, claimed as part of the minimum wage; deductions; and net wages. 

Ohio is one of the most recent states to establish information requirements for an employee’s pay stub with the Pay Stub Protection Act going into effect in April 2025. Beginning in April, Ohio employers are required to include on every pay stub received by an employee: the name and address of both the employee and employer; the employee’s total gross wages and total net wages; the amount and purpose of each addition to, or deduction from, the wages paid to the employee; the pay date and the pay period covered by the check; and for hourly employees, the total number of hours worked, the hourly wage rate (which may require multiple wage rates if the employee performs work at different wage rates), and any overtime included in the calculation.

The cost of non-compliance varies by state as well. For example, New York employees are entitled to recover damages up to $250 per violation, up to a total of $5,000, if they do not receive the proper and correct wage stub. Meanwhile, employees in Ohio will not have a private right-of-action but would have the right to report violations to the state director of commerce.

With pay transparency concerns on the rise, it is vital for employers to confirm that they are in compliance for all of the states in which they operate. Please contact a Spilman attorney to assist in this audit process.