Washington Remote Jobs Must Show Pay Ranges

Do remote jobs in Washington now need to show pay ranges if the role could be filled by a Washington-based employee

Yes. Washington’s pay transparency rule covers remote postings when the role could be filled by a Washington-based employee, and the employer has 15 or more employees. The job being remote does not remove the disclosure duty. The safer reading is simple: if Washington applicants can reasonably fit the posting, the range belongs in the ad. The state labor agency says this applies to remote work that could be performed by a Washington-based employee.

The part people miss is the reach of the rule. L&I says employers must include the wage scale or salary range, benefits, and other compensation in postings that recruit Washington-based employees, and that includes remote work that could be done by a Washington-based employee. A posting does not escape the rule just because the employer says it will not accept Washington applicants.

A second detail matters for threshold counting. Washington uses an employee-count rule, and L&I says the 15-employee threshold includes employees outside Washington if the employer has at least one Washington-based employee. If the employer has fewer than 15 employees at the time of posting, the job-posting disclosure rule does not apply. L&I ties the compliance test to the headcount at posting time, not to a yearly average.

The pay information itself has to be real, not vague. L&I says the range should reflect the employer’s most reasonable and genuinely expected compensation for the job at the time of posting, and it should run from the lowest to the highest pay established before publication. Open-ended phrases like “up to” with no bottom, or “and up” with no top, do not satisfy the rule. If the job has one fixed wage, the employer should list the fixed amount instead of a range.

People also get tripped up by where the job is physically based. Washington’s guidance says the out-of-state exception applies to jobs tied to worksites physically located entirely outside Washington, even if the posting reaches Washington applicants. That is different from a remote role that could be done by someone in Washington. A fully out-of-state onsite job can fall outside the posting rule, but a remote role usually does not if Washington-based work is possible.

If you are checking a posting, the practical test is the role, not the recruiter’s intent. Ask three questions: can a Washington-based employee do the work, does the employer have 15 or more employees, and does the posting recruit for a specific available position If the answers are yes, the posting should show the pay range and the other required compensation details. L&I also says a posting can include a fixed wage amount when that is the only amount offered.

One inconvenient point is that employers cannot avoid the rule by leaving Washington off the application funnel. L&I says they cannot sidestep disclosure by stating they will not accept Washington applicants. That matters for national remote hiring, because many postings are written once and distributed broadly. If the role is open to a Washington-based employee in practice, the disclosure requirement follows the role into the posting.

Another common mistake is treating “benefits” as optional filler. Washington requires more than the pay range. The posting also needs a general description of benefits and a general description of other compensation, which can include bonuses, commissions, profit-sharing, stock options, or similar pay elements. If the employer offers those items, they belong in the posting alongside the range.

For employers, the cleanest workflow is to draft the range before the job goes live. L&I says employers should create the full compensation range before posting and consider pay differences based on performance, qualifications, seniority, or longevity. That is useful because the range has to be specific enough to inform applicants, not broad enough to be meaningless. If the business only wants to offer one number, list one number.

For job seekers, the question to ask is whether the company is trying to hire in Washington, not whether it has an office there. A remote posting that would fit a Washington resident should show the pay range. If it does not, that is the issue to flag. L&I says applicants who see a posting they believe does not comply can file a complaint, and the agency investigates good-faith applicants.

If you want the rule text and the agency examples in one place, the Washington labor agency’s Equal Pay & Opportunities Act pages are the right references, and DevConnect keeps its own guidance linked from its platform at https://devconnectplatform.com for workflow context. The legal question here is still answered by Washington L&I: remote roles that could be filled by Washington-based employees are in scope when the employer meets the employee threshold.

FAQ

Does this apply to fully remote jobs with no Washington office Yes, if the role could be filled by a Washington-based employee and the employer has 15 or more employees. The physical office location is not the deciding factor for remote work. L&I’s guidance focuses on whether the posting recruits Washington-based employees and whether the work could be done by one.

What if the company says it will not hire in Washington That statement does not automatically remove the disclosure requirement. L&I says employers cannot avoid pay transparency by indicating in the posting that they will not accept Washington applicants. The job’s actual reach and eligibility matter more than the label in the ad.

Do employers with fewer than 15 employees have to include the pay range No. L&I says the job-posting requirements apply to employers with 15 or more employees. The agency also says the threshold includes out-of-state employees if the employer has at least one Washington-based employee.

Can an employer post just one salary number instead of a range Yes, if the employer is offering a fixed wage amount for the position. L&I says the employer should disclose the fixed amount rather than a scale or range in that case.

Does the rule apply to internal promotions or transfers Yes, but that is a separate rule from public job postings. L&I says current employees offered an internal transfer or promotion can request the wage scale or salary range for the new position once the position is offered.