Massachusetts Pay Transparency Requirements Take Effect October 29, 2025

Starting October 29, 2025, Massachusetts employers with 25 or more employees must follow new pay transparency rules under An Act Relative to Salary Range Transparency (also known as the Massachusetts Wage Transparency Act). Employers must establish pay ranges, disclose them in job postings, and share pay details with employees and applicants upon request or during hiring, promotion, or transfer. This puts Massachusetts in line with other states promoting fair compensation through pay transparency.

What Is a Covered Employer?

The wage transparency requirements under the law pertain to employers with 25 or more employees in Massachusetts. This encompasses both in-state and out-of-state employers that have at least 25 employees whose “primary place of work” is in Massachusetts during the previous calendar year. Compliance necessitates that employers calculate their head count annually, averaging all payroll periods within the year and including all full-time, part-time, seasonal, and temporary employees.

According to the FAQs published by the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office (AGO) earlier this year, the definition of “primary place of work” is consistent with its definition in the Massachusetts earned sick time regulations and accompanying AGO guidance. For most employees, their primary place of work is where they perform the majority of their job duties. Out-of-state remote employees count toward an employer’s Massachusetts head count only when their primary place of work is Massachusetts. For example, if an employee telecommutes to a Massachusetts worksite, Massachusetts will be considered the primary place of work even though the employee does not physically work in Massachusetts.

What Is a Pay Range?

A “pay range” is defined as “the annual salary range or hourly wage range that the [employer] reasonably and in good faith expects to pay for such position at that time.” Pay ranges should reflect the actual compensation that the employer reasonably expects to pay for the position, and ranges should not be overly broad to avoid inaccurately representing the pay for the role. According to the FAQs, “if the position’s hourly or salary wage is based on a piece rate or commission, then the piece rate or commission range […] must be included in the job posting.”

These wage transparency requirements apply to all positions that are or will have a primary place of work in Massachusetts. This includes roles that “can be performed remotely to a Massachusetts worksite and remote workers with a primary place of work in Massachusetts.”

What Are the Wage Transparency Requirements?

Starting October 29, 2025, employers must provide pay range information for each “particular and specific employment position”:

• In all internal or external job postings, including postings made by third-party recruiters.
• To any employee who applies for or is offered a promotion or transfer to a new position with different job responsibilities. 
• Upon request by an applicant for a position. 
• Upon request to a current employee who holds the position, even if there is no vacancy in the role.

Does the Law Prohibit Retaliation?

Yes. The law includes broad anti-retaliation provisions that protect applicants and employees who request pay range information, make a complaint to their employer or the AGO, participate in an investigation, or otherwise assert their rights under the law.

What Are the Penalties for Noncompliance?

 Employees may file complaints with the Massachusetts AGO’s Civil Rights Division.

The penalties for noncompliance are:

• First offense: warning.
• Second offense: fine (not more than $500).
• Third offense: fine (not more than $1,000).
• Fourth and subsequent offenses: higher penalties under Massachusetts General Laws chapter 149, section 27C (fine up to $25,000, depending on the circumstances).

For the first two years that the wage requirements are in effect (until October 29, 2027), the law grants employers a two–business day grace period to cure a violation upon notice before a fine is imposed.

What Should Employers Do?

• Review and update compensation practices, including reviewing and establishing pay ranges for all positions.
• Revise internal and external job postings to include pay ranges and ensure the third-party recruiters are complying with the law’s posting requirements.
• Develop protocols for responding to pay transparency requests from applicants and current employees.
• Train human resources and management on the law’s requirements and nonretaliation protections.
• Implement a system for maintaining records of pay ranges and the rationale for determining those ranges.
• Consider conducting a pay equity audit to ensure compliance with the Massachusetts Equal Pay Act and other applicable pay equity laws.

This informational piece, which may be considered advertising under the ethical rules of certain jurisdictions, is provided on the understanding that it does not constitute the rendering of legal advice or other professional advice by Goodwin or its lawyers. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.