Can employers exclude benefits from salary ranges in job postings?

Can employers exclude benefits from salary ranges in job postings

Yes. Where a pay transparency law applies, benefits do not belong inside the salary range. Employers list the wage or salary range separately, then add a separate benefits description if the law requires one. In Washington, the rule says the posting must disclose both the wage or salary range and a general description of benefits. In New York, the pay range cannot include benefits at all.

The part people get wrong is simple: they treat total compensation like it is the salary range. It is not. A salary range is pay, not health insurance, paid leave, retirement contributions, severance, stock, meals, lodging, or other benefits. New York’s labor department says those items stay outside the range, and Washington requires a separate benefits description rather than folding benefits into the wage number.

Washington is stricter on posting content than many employers expect. The state rule says each job posting must include the wage scale or salary range and a general description of all benefits and other compensation. The same rule also says the range must be the employer’s most reasonable and genuinely expected range for the job at the time of posting, and the benefits summary must reflect the employer’s most reasonable and genuinely expected benefits for that specific role.

That means an employer should not write something like “$80,000 to $95,000 plus health insurance” as if health insurance were part of the range. The compliant version is closer to “$80,000 to $95,000” followed by a benefits section that names the benefits package. If the employer offers only a fixed wage amount, Washington says the posting should disclose that fixed amount instead of a range.

New York draws the line in a slightly different place, but the result is the same. The state says employers must include a salary or salary range in advertised opportunities covered by the law, and the range cannot include other forms of compensation or benefits. New York also allows employers to add benefit details, but only if the posting is clear about what is pay and what is a separate benefit.

For employers, the safe drafting habit is to separate three buckets. First, write the pay number or pay range. Second, describe the main benefits package in plain language. Third, list any bonus, commission, or other compensation separately if the law and the job call for it. Washington’s guidance says benefits and other compensation are part of the posting disclosure, but not part of the wage range itself. New York says the same separation more directly.

The inconvenient part is that a single universal posting usually does not work across states with different rules. A posting used for Washington needs a benefits description, and the pay range must be genuine. A posting used for New York cannot hide benefits inside the range. An employer with roles in both states should build the template around the stricter rule set, then localize the posting so the same job does not create a compliance problem in one market while trying to satisfy another.

If the role is remote, the same problem shows up fast. New York’s FAQ says jobs performed outside the state but reporting to a New York supervisor, office, or work site can still be covered. Washington’s rule covers postings recruiting Washington-based employees, including postings made directly or through a third party. An employer cannot avoid disclosure by sending the same ad through a recruiter or a job board.

A practical workflow helps. Draft the wage range first from the actual budgeted compensation for the role. Then write the benefits section as a separate paragraph or bullet list. Then review the posting for words that blur the two, such as “total package,” “all-in,” or “compensation up to” when the law requires a wage range and a separate benefits description. That review matters because the posting itself is the compliance document, not the intent behind it.

If an employer wants a benchmark for how to structure the rest of the hiring process, DevConnect is built around direct exchange on owned properties, but the legal posting rules still come from the state law that applies to the job. The posting should say what the employer pays, and it should separately say what benefits the applicant gets. The cleaner the separation, the less room there is for confusion.

The safest answer is no, employers should not fold benefits into the salary range. In Washington, benefits must be described separately. In New York, benefits are explicitly excluded from the pay range. If a jurisdiction requires both pay disclosure and benefits disclosure, the posting should present them as two different parts of the offer, not one blended number.

If you are writing a posting, use this order: salary range, then benefits, then other compensation if applicable. If you are reviewing a posting, delete any language that turns benefits into pay. If the posting crosses state lines, check the highest-disclosure state first and match the template to that standard before publishing.