Washington, DC, to enhance wage transparency 

May 14, 2024

On Jan. 12, 2024, Washington, DC’s, mayor signed DC Act 25-367 which amends the Wage Transparency Act of 2014 and will require private employers to include salary information in job postings and prohibit them from asking applicants about salary history. The Act takes effect on June 30, 2024.

Employer disclosures. Employers will be required to include minimum and maximum projected salary or hourly pay information for all job advertisements or job postings. The range shall extend from the lowest to the highest salary or hourly pay that the employer — in good faith — believes at the time of the posting it would pay for the advertised job, promotion or transfer opportunity. Employers also will need to disclose the existence of healthcare benefits before the first interview.

Expanded protection of compensation information. Employers cannot prevent employees from discussing their wages with others or disciplining employees who inquired about or discussed their wages or the wages of other employees. The changes will expand the protections to “compensation” — rather than wages. 

Inquiries on wage histories banned. Employers will be prohibited from screening prospective employees based on their wage history or seeking the wage history of a prospective employee. 

Compensation defined. Compensation means all forms of monetary and nonmonetary benefits an employer provides or promises to provide an employee in exchange for the employee’s services to the employer.

Employer defined. “Employer” is an individual, firm, association, or corporation that employs at least one employee in DC, but it does not include the DC or federal government.

Employer notice. Employers will be required to post a notice in the workplace to notify employees of their rights. The notice must be in a conspicuous place in at least one location where employees congregate.

Enforcement and penalties. The Attorney General will enforce violations of the Act and may bring civil actions against an employer or seek remedies on behalf of individuals or the public. In addition, violations of the Act may result in civil fines assessed by the mayor of $1,000 for the first violation, $5,000 for the second violation, and $20,000 for each subsequent violation. There is no private right of action under this law.

Washington, DC’s, pay transparency requirements are not effective until June 30, 2024, 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 and Rhode Island also 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?
• 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

• DC Act 25-367 (DC Council, Jan. 12, 2024)

• Roundup: US employer resources on states’ recent equal pay laws (regularly updated)
• 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)