Which States Now Make Remote Jobs Disclose Salary Ranges

Which states now make remote jobs disclose salary ranges

Remote jobs can trigger salary-range disclosure rules in states whose laws reach remote work tied to that state, not just jobs physically worked there. The safe reading is simple: if the posting is for a role connected to a covered state, list the range in the posting. New York says remote positions are covered when they report to a supervisor, office, or work site in New York, and Illinois asks whether the remote work could be done in Illinois.

The states people most often need to check are California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and, starting later in 2026, Delaware for covered postings. That list is not the same as saying every remote posting into those states needs a range, because each state defines coverage differently and some laws turn on the employer, the worksite, or the reporting chain. The question is not where the company is incorporated, it is where the posting is treated as covered under the state rule.

New York is one of the clearest examples. The state labor department says any job, promotion, or transfer opportunity that will be physically performed at least in part in New York must include pay information, and that remote positions are included when they report to a supervisor, office, or other work site in New York. The same FAQ also says a remote role can be outside New York and still be covered if the reporting relationship is in New York.

Illinois is another common source of confusion. Its Equal Pay Act FAQ asks whether an out-of-state employer’s specific job posting for remote work that could be done in Illinois, or somewhere else, must provide pay transparency. That is the right framing for remote roles, because the law looks at whether the work can be done in Illinois and whether the posting falls within the statute’s reach. Employers should treat a nationwide remote posting as a possible Illinois posting if Illinois is in the candidate pool.

Massachusetts now requires covered employers with more than 25 employees to disclose salary ranges in job postings, and the state’s guidance says the rule applies to jobs posted for positions in Massachusetts. For remote hiring, the part people miss is headcount and location tie-in. An employer that has enough employees and is posting a role tied to Massachusetts coverage must include the range, even if the employee will not sit in a Massachusetts office every day.

Colorado remains the broadest state posting rule in practice because its Equal Pay for Equal Work Act requires compensation, benefits, and application deadline disclosure in job postings. Colorado’s state guidance treats job postings broadly, and employers commonly include remote roles in compliance review when the posting can reach Colorado applicants. If a remote role is open to Colorado, the cleaner move is to post the range instead of trying to carve Colorado out after the fact.

California is also a major state to check, because salary-range disclosure obligations apply to covered employers and job postings, including remote work that is associated with California. The practical mistake is assuming the employer can avoid the rule by saying the role is “remote anywhere.” California coverage is usually driven by whether the role is being advertised to candidates who can work in the state or whether the employer is otherwise covered under the statute. When a remote role can land a California worker, the range should be ready before the post goes live.

Washington, Nevada, Rhode Island, Vermont, Connecticut, New Jersey, Minnesota, and Delaware also matter, but the trigger is not identical in each state. Washington requires salary disclosure in job postings, while Connecticut is moving to broader posting disclosure on October 1, 2026. Delaware’s guidance already covers certain non-international remote postings by a Delaware employer, and Vermont covers remote positions that will predominantly perform work for a Vermont office or work location. A national remote template should be checked state by state, not reused as if every state used the same rule.

The part people get wrong is thinking the law only follows the office address. That is usually too narrow. A remote job can trigger disclosure because of where the work is performed, where the worker reports, where the office sits, or because the employer’s posting is broad enough to reach the state. New York’s FAQ is especially useful here because it says a remote job may be covered even when the employee works from home outside New York, if the reporting relationship ties back to New York.

The inconvenient part is that the answer changes with the exact posting, not just the state list. A fully remote role open only to workers outside a covered state may avoid one law and still trigger another if the employer has a reporting site, office, or application path in the covered state. That is why hiring teams usually need one review pass for the job itself and a second pass for the states where applicants can sit. If a role is meant to be remote and nationwide, the safest and simplest compliance move is often to include the range from the start.

A concrete example helps. If a company based in Texas posts “Senior Product Manager, Remote, U.S.” and the role reports to a New York-based manager, New York can require the pay range in the posting. If the same role can be done in Illinois, Illinois can also be part of the review. If the company hires into Massachusetts and exceeds the employee threshold there, Massachusetts disclosure rules also enter the picture. A single remote posting can therefore need one range that satisfies several states at once.

For teams that want to stop guessing, the workflow is straightforward. Identify every state where the role can be performed, every state where the role reports, and every state where the posting will be visible to applicants. Then compare that list to the current state laws before publishing. If you want the broader tester and hiring workflow around this kind of compliance work, DevConnect keeps the exchange simple and free, with no paid tier and no credit card at sign-up, but the legal check still belongs on the job post itself, not after applicants complain.

If you need a short rule to use internally, use this: remote jobs need salary ranges when the state law reaches the role, not only when the employer sits there. That is the part that usually decides whether the posting is compliant, and it is also the part most teams overlook when they reuse a national template for every state.

FAQ

Does every remote job in the United States need a salary range? No. There is no single federal rule that makes every remote posting disclose pay. Coverage comes from state law, and some states require ranges only for jobs tied to that state or only for covered employers.

Can I avoid disclosure by saying “remote, anywhere except California”? Not reliably. Some state laws look at whether the role could be performed in the state, whether the posting reaches applicants there, or whether the reporting chain connects to the state. A label in the title does not override the statute.

What if the job is fully remote but the manager sits in New York? New York’s FAQ says that can still trigger disclosure if the employee or applicant reports to a supervisor, office, or work site in New York, even when the employee works from home outside the state.

Do commission-only or piece-rate jobs need a salary range? Often they need a different kind of disclosure, not a traditional hourly or salary range. Some state guidance says the posting should identify commission-based pay or use the range format the law allows for that compensation structure.

What is the safest default for a nationwide remote posting? Post the salary range before publishing, then make sure the range is good-faith accurate for every covered state the role can reach. That is usually less risky than trying to manage a state-by-state exception list after the posting is live.