You can see an employer's stated pay floor and ceiling before you ever submit an application in states with pay-transparency laws, including Colorado, where Colorado's Equal Pay for Equal Work Act has required it since 2021, and New York, where a similar rule took hold under New York's pay transparency law. The posted number is a range the employer believes it may offer, not a guaranteed final salary.
What do these laws actually require a job posting to show?
Colorado's rule, described as the nation's first law of its kind when it took effect at the start of 2021, sets three mandatory elements for job postings and internal promotion notices. Employers must state the rate of pay or a range spanning the lowest to highest amount they genuinely expect to offer — an open-ended figure such as "starting at $30,000" does not comply. Postings must also describe, in general terms, any bonuses, commissions, or tips, and must summarize benefits categories such as health care, retirement plans, and paid time off, without listing specific dollar values. A good-faith application deadline is required; language such as "open until filled" is explicitly non-compliant under the state's guidance.
How does New York's version of the law work?
New York's Labor Law Section 194-B applies to private-sector employers with four or more employees. It requires job descriptions for covered postings, promotions, and transfers, along with a compensation range showing either a minimum and maximum annual salary or a minimum and maximum hourly rate. Commission-based positions must be identified as such. The law also bars retaliation against a worker or applicant who asks about the range, and complaints can be filed with the New York State Department of Labor's Division of Labor Standards.
What has changed in Colorado since the law took effect?
The state's own guidance points to measurable shifts since January 2021: a 3.6 percent increase in posted pay statewide, alongside a narrowing of Colorado's gender pay gap driven by rising pay for women rather than falling pay for men, according to research cited in the state's compliance materials. Enforcement carries weight behind the requirement — fines run from $500 to $10,000 per violation, with each noncompliant job posting counted as a separate violation, and additional daily penalties apply if an employer ignores a correction order.
How can you use a posted range when you negotiate?
A published range is a starting document, not a ceiling you have to accept quietly. Four steps make use of what the law puts in front of you:
- Read the range as the employer's own estimate of what it "genuinely believes" it may pay, per Colorado's compliance guidance — treat it as a negotiating floor, not a fixed offer.
- Ask directly where your experience places you within the posted band, rather than asking whether the range is negotiable at all.
- Request the same range in writing for any internal promotion or transfer covered by these laws, since both Colorado and New York extend disclosure to those situations, not just external postings.
- If a recruiter won't confirm a range that state law requires to be posted, that gap itself is worth naming — retaliation for asking is barred under New York's statute.
None of this promises a particular outcome. The laws create a disclosure floor; what you do with the number is still a negotiation, not a formula.
How do Colorado's and New York's rules compare?
The two laws share a core idea — a posted range before you apply — but differ in what else they require, based on each state's own guidance:
| Requirement | Colorado | New York |
|---|---|---|
| Salary or hourly range | Required, with both a floor and a ceiling | Required, minimum and maximum annual salary or hourly rate |
| Benefits summary in posting | Required, general description of health, retirement, and paid-time-off categories | Not described as required in the state's guidance |
| Bonus or commission note | Required, general description | Commission-based roles must be identified as such |
| Application deadline | Good-faith deadline required; open until filled is non-compliant | Not described as required in the state's guidance |
| Employer size covered | Applies broadly within the state, per state guidance | Private employers with four or more employees |
| Retaliation protection | Not detailed in the source cited here | Explicit protection for workers who ask about the range |
The practical difference for someone moving between the two job markets: a Colorado posting is more likely to include a benefits summary and a firm application window, while a New York posting more explicitly protects a candidate who asks a recruiter to confirm the range.
What does the pay gap look like right now?
The disclosure requirement matters most in the context it was built to address. Posted ranges narrow the information gap that has historically let similar roles settle at different pay depending on who negotiated and who didn't ask, a pattern the national wage data below still reflects.
Women working full time earned a median of $1,089 a week in 2025, compared with $1,326 a week for men, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data. That works out to about 82 cents for every dollar in men's median weekly pay — a gap of $237 a week that transparency laws are aimed at narrowing, one posted range at a time, though the laws address disclosure, not the gap's underlying causes.
Frequently asked questions
- Does a posted pay range guarantee that exact salary? No. Colorado's guidance describes the range as what an employer believes it may offer, not a binding commitment, so the final offer can land anywhere inside — or in some cases outside — that stated band.
- Which employers have to comply? Coverage varies by state law. New York's rule covers private employers with four or more employees; Colorado's applies more broadly to postings and promotions within the state, per each state's own guidance.
- What happens if an employer skips the disclosure? In Colorado, fines run $500 to $10,000 per violation, with each noncompliant posting treated separately, according to the state's enforcement guidance.
For a related careers perspective, read How to use pay-transparency laws to negotiate a higher salary.