Federal Contractors & Subcontractors

Required Pay Range Transparency in Job Advertisements May Be Coming Soon

As you probably know, several states – including New York, California and Colorado – now require employers to disclose, in job advertisements, starting pay ranges and benefits information. In addition, over the past few years, many states have prohibited employers from asking for, or using, salary history to set starting pay for new employees.

A proposed federal rule published earlier this week would do the same for federal contractors and subcontractors. When advertising for any position that would “perform work on or in connection with” a federal contract or subcontract, the employer will be required to disclose:

• The compensation the employer believes in good faith it will pay for the position, which may be a pay range;
• A “general description of the benefits and other forms of compensation” available with the job; and, 
• Provide employment applicants with a prescribed notice of these rights.

In addition, federal contractors would be prohibited from:

• Seeking or requiring disclosure of an applicant’s salary history; and
• Relying on an applicant’s salary history when considering whether to advance the applicant in the hiring process, or to set starting pay.

No action is needed now – these are only proposed requirements – but we expect there is a high likelihood the requirements will be approved.

Comments regarding the proposed rule can be submitted by April 1, 2024.

We will keep you updated on any developments as they happen.



If your organization is interested in submitting a comment, or if you have questions about the proposed rule, please contact the Silberman Law legal professional with whom you work, or simply reply to this Employer Alert.

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