Pay transparency is rapidly becoming a mandatory compliance issue for businesses across the country. More than just a moral imperative, pay transparency laws are taking effect that mandate salary range disclosure and require employers to be more open about compensation. For our small business and nonprofit clients with employees, understanding these changes is critical to not only avoid costly compliance issues, but also to compete with larger employers and foster a more equitable workplace.
Local Requirements: Salary Ranges in Job Postings
On December 3, 2025, Columbus strengthened its pay transparency regulations. Employers have already been prohibited from asking job applicants for their salary history. Now, employers with 15 or more employees in the City of Columbus are also required to include a reasonable pay range in any job posting.
While the Columbus pay transparency law does not technically apply to smaller employers or those whose employees are located in the various suburbs, you should keep in mind that job applicants are increasingly expecting to see these types of salary range disclosures in job postings. Not doing so on the basis of a technicality could mean fewer qualified applicants taking the time to respond to your job posting.
Note: Enforcement in Columbus will not begin until January 1, 2027. This grace period offers a crucial opportunity for businesses to audit their pay practices and update their HR systems and job posting processes.
It is important to remember that several other cities in Ohio, including Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Toledo, have their own pay transparency regulations with varying requirements for disclosing salary ranges. If you have employees throughout the state (or even working remotely in other states), it is critically important that you put a plan in place to remain compliant.
What is a “Reasonable” Pay Range?
The “reasonableness” of the pay range in the job posting will be based on several factors:
- The flexibility of your budget
- The range of experience you anticipate job applicants will have
- Any potential variation in job responsibilities for the position
- Anticipated opportunities for growth, whether in the position or beyond it
- Cost of living in the area where the position will be based
- Market research for comparable positions
The Federal Foundation: Employees’ Right to Discuss Pay
Beyond these local pay transparency laws, it’s vital for employers to remember the foundational federal right that protects an employee’s ability to discuss compensation.
Under Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), most private-sector employees have the right to engage in “concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection.” The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has long held that this includes the right of employees to discuss their salaries, bonuses, and working conditions with one another.
This means that employers who implement policies that explicitly prohibit employees from discussing their salaries or bonuses may be in violation of the NLRA. This is a very common mistake we find in small business and nonprofit employee handbooks.
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Best Practices: Your Compliance Checklist for Pay Transparency Law
To stay ahead of the curve and maintain compliance in a changing landscape, we recommend the following:
- Make sure that all job postings clearly state the salary range for the position.
- Do not ask job applicants about their salary history.
- Review employee handbooks and contracts to remove any policies that broadly prohibit employees from discussing their pay or other terms of employment, as these risk violating the NLRA.
- Pay transparency and wage-and-hour laws are complex and vary significantly from one city and state to the next. Schedule a Consultation today to assess your compliance in all of the states and municipalities where your employees are based.
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