Should Job Listings Advertise Salaries? It's Now Mandatory In Five US States

Should Australia be doing the same?

California is the latest US State to pass a law that will require most businesses to publish a salary range or hourly range in a job listing.

It’s the fifth state to pass this kind of legislation, and now other states and countries worldwide are thinking about doing the same thing.

The law goes into effect on 1 January 2023, and will require businesses with more than 15 employees to openly publish a job’s salary when looking at hiring new talent.

With more than 19 million workers living in California, this is a huge change.

Supporters of the law are saying it’s a huge step in fighting workplace discrimination, such as the gender and racial pay gaps.

According to the US Census Bureau, women in California earn around 88 cents for every dollar men earn.

“Women, and especially women of colour, are literally being robbed of wages every year,” said Jessica Ramsay Stender, policy director for Equal Rights Advocates.

California now joins Washington, Colorado, Connecticut and Nevada in making salary transparency law.

There’s currently similar legislation on the floor of the New York State Legislature, which only needs the Governor’s signoff to become law.

The salary question can be one of the hardest and most awkward parts of getting a job – earlier this year we spoke to a career expert on how to answer that dreaded question.

But with more transparency, that question could essentially be eliminated, and would make the job process a whole lot easier.