By Mark Adams
Starting October 29, 2025, Massachusetts employers with 25 or more employees whose primary place of work is in the Commonwealth must include a wage range—defined as “the annual salary range or hourly wage range that the employer reasonably and in good faith expects to pay for such a position at that time”—in all job postings (both internal and external), and also provide that wage range when issuing promotions, transfers, or upon an employee’s or applicant’s request. The Attorney General’s Office has issued guidance clarifying how to determine a “primary place of work” and how to calculate the 25‑employee threshold, including remote and hybrid workers with a Massachusetts connection. In short, the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office is utilizing the same methodology referenced in its sick leave guidance as the approach for determining the coverage threshold for this pay transparency requirement. (You can find the state’s pay transparency FAQ’s here, and similarly the sick leave FAQ’a here – see the bottom of page 3 in the sick leave FAQ’s for specific discussion on this primary place to work question).
The requirement applies to all public and private employers that averaged 25 or more employees in Massachusetts in the prior calendar year—this includes full‑time, part‑time, and seasonal workers (as there is no full-time equivalent (FTE) calculation for determining coverage).
Enforcement of the wage‑range disclosure requirement is handled exclusively by the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office. For violations, the law provides an escalating penalty structure: first offense yields a warning, second offense is a fine up to $500, third offense up to $1,000, and a fourth or subsequent offense may result in fines up to $25,000 per violation. Importantly, for the first two years—from October 29, 2025, to October 29, 2027—employers have a two‑business‑day “cure” period after receiving a Notice to Cure from the Attorney General before penalties are imposed.
Separately, the law also provides for broad anti-retaliation provisions that provide that employers are prohibited from acting against employees for enforcing their rights under the law. Such retaliatory conduct may allow an employee to bring a private cause of action for further relief with possible remedies including (depending upon the facts of the case):
- Injunctive or declaratory relief (i.e. court order for employer to stop retaliating, reinstate rights)
- Back pay or lost wages (i.e. compensation for earnings lost due to retaliation)
- Other damages (depending on the nature of the retaliation)
- Attorneys’ fees and costs