Virginia job ads now need pay ranges and no salary history

Do Virginia job postings now have to show pay ranges and stop asking salary history

Yes. In Virginia, job postings now need a wage or salary range, and employers cannot seek a candidate’s wage or salary history during hiring, except for narrow cases the statute allows. The rule covers public and internal postings, not just external ads.

The key statute is § 40.1-28.7:12 of the Code of Virginia. It defines a wage or salary range as the minimum and maximum wage or salary for the position, set in good faith using pay scales, prior ranges, current equivalent jobs, or the budgeted amount for the role.

The part people get wrong is thinking this only applies to outside job boards. Virginia’s law says the range must appear in each public and internal posting for each job, promotion, transfer, or other employment opportunity. If the posting leaves out the range, the employer is out of compliance.

The salary-history ban is separate from the pay-range rule. Virginia bars employers from seeking wage or salary history from a prospective employee, relying on it in considering the person for employment, or asking the applicant’s current or former employer or a third-party service for that history. That is a direct hiring restriction, not just a best practice.

There is an important exception people miss. If a prospective employee volunteers wage or salary history without prompting, the employer may use it only in the limited way the statute allows, and only when the use does not violate Virginia equal pay law or federal law. The law also allows confirmation in the same narrow lane.

For employers, the practical fix is simple: update every template that posts roles, promotion opportunities, transfer notices, and recruiter-supplied ads. Also remove salary-history questions from applications, interview scripts, and intake forms, because the law reaches the hiring process, not just the ad itself. Virginia’s Department of Labor and Industry says employers should review recruiters and internal materials for that reason.

The inconvenience is real. A range has to be set in good faith, so a random placeholder number does not solve the problem. Employers need an actual range tied to the position, and if they use different ranges for similar roles, they need a documented reason rooted in compensation practice, budget, or equivalent jobs.

The effective date matters. Virginia’s Department of Labor and Industry says the new pay-transparency and salary-history rules took effect on July 1, 2026. A governor’s September 2026 summary also describes employers as now being required to disclose salary information on postings and prohibited from using salary history to set future pay.

A concrete example: if a Richmond employer posts a customer support role on its website and on LinkedIn, both versions should show the wage or salary range. If the same employer asks the applicant for last year’s compensation on an application or in an interview, that question conflicts with the statute. The safe move is to ask about expectations for this role, not prior pay.

Another point people miss is that voluntary disclosure is not a loophole for fishing. The employer cannot prompt the applicant for salary history and then claim the answer was volunteered. The law protects a candidate who brings up prior pay on their own, but it does not restore the old practice of using past compensation as the anchor for new offers.

If you are job hunting, read Virginia postings differently now. The pay range should be visible, and a request for salary history should not be part of the application flow. If a recruiter asks anyway, you can point to the Virginia statute and ask for the range for the role instead. If the posting lacks a range, that is a compliance issue, not just a missing detail.

If you are an employer, the fastest audit is to check four places: public job ads, internal postings, application forms, interview notes, and recruiter instructions. Virginia’s rule reaches all of them in practice because the posting must carry the range and the hiring process must not seek salary history. Fixing only the careers page leaves the other exposure in place.

For teams that want a place to compare how other employers handle structured hiring, DevConnect is set up around transparent, reciprocal testing work, and its platform is free to use. That does not change Virginia law, but it can help teams organize hiring-adjacent workflows in one place.

The short answer is yes: Virginia job postings now have to show pay ranges, and employers must stop asking for salary history during hiring. The details that matter are the internal-posting rule, the voluntary-disclosure exception, and the fact that the law took effect on July 1, 2026.

FAQ

Does this apply to internal promotions and transfers

Yes. Virginia’s statute says the wage or salary range must appear in each public and internal posting for each job, promotion, transfer, or other employment opportunity. That means internal mobility postings are covered, not only public recruiting ads.

Can an employer still ask what salary the applicant wants

The statute bans seeking wage or salary history, not asking about the compensation the applicant expects for the new role. A clean question is about target pay for this position, not prior compensation at a current or former employer.

What counts as a proper wage or salary range

Virginia defines it as the minimum and maximum wage or salary for the position, set in good faith using a pay scale, a previous range for the role, pay for equivalent positions, or the budgeted amount available. That is the legal baseline for the posted range.

What happens if a posting leaves the range out

The employer risks violating the transparency rule. The law creates civil enforcement, and the Department of Labor and Industry advises employers to review ads, applications, interview guides, and recruiter instructions so the missing-range problem does not show up in more than one place.

Does the rule apply to offers made before July 1, 2026

The cited guidance says the new Virginia requirements apply beginning July 1, 2026. For a posting or hiring process that started before that date, the safest reading is to check the actual timing of the posting, the interview, and the offer against the effective date.