Maryland requires covered internal and external job postings to disclose the minimum and maximum wage range, a general description of benefits, and any other compensation offered for the position. The range must be set in good faith. The law applies to positions where work will be physically performed at least partly in Maryland. If a covered posting was not made available to an applicant, the employer must provide the required compensation information before discussing compensation and at any other time on the applicant's request.
Jurisdiction: Maryland, United States
Maryland's Expanded Wage Range Transparency Law Took Effect October 1, 2024
Maryland expanded its Equal Pay for Equal Work framework so that covered job postings must contain compensation information rather than relying only on applicant requests. The Maryland Department of Labor explains that the requirements apply prospectively to postings made on or after October 1, 2024, including reposted positions made after that date. Employers should therefore treat Maryland transparency as an ongoing posting requirement, not as a one-time transition rule.
Internal and External Postings Are Covered
Maryland's guidance states that the law applies broadly to internal and external solicitations. Covered formats can include traditional advertisements, social media posts, emails sent to multiple applicants and postings published through recruiting platforms or other third parties on the employer's behalf. A company should therefore apply the same approved compensation disclosure to its internal career portal, public careers site and authorized recruiter channels. Uncontrolled third-party scraping is treated differently from a posting made by or on behalf of the employer.
The Posting Must Include the Wage Range, Benefits and Other Compensation
Maryland requires three core categories of information in a covered posting: the pay range, a general description of benefits and any other compensation offered. The wage range means the minimum and maximum salary or hourly rate the employer in good faith believes to be accurate at the time of posting. Benefits are disclosed separately from the wage range, and Maryland guidance gives examples such as employer-provided insurance, paid or unpaid time off and retirement or savings benefits. Other compensation can include additional earnings or monetary compensation offered for the work.
The Wage Range Must Be Set in Good Faith
Maryland permits employers to use several real compensation references when establishing the disclosed range. The Department of Labor identifies examples such as an applicable pay scale, a previously determined range for the position, the actual range paid to current employees in comparable positions, or the amount budgeted for the role. The purpose is to produce a range the employer genuinely believes is accurate when the posting is made. An arbitrary or purely symbolic range is therefore a poor fit with the statutory good-faith standard.
Coverage Depends on Work Being Performed at Least Partly in Maryland
Maryland's Department of Labor states that the law applies to positions where work will be physically performed, at least in part, in Maryland. The guidance gives the example of a remote role for a company headquartered outside Maryland where the solicitation seeks workers based in Maryland. By contrast, merely attending an occasional meeting or conference in Maryland does not necessarily make the role covered. Employers should define the expected work location before publication and avoid relying only on the employer's headquarters address.
If No Posting Was Provided, the Applicant Still Has Disclosure Rights
Maryland also addresses hiring situations where a public or internal posting was not made available to the applicant. In that situation, the employer must provide the compensation information that would have appeared in the posting before a discussion of compensation is held and again at any other time the applicant requests it. This prevents an employer from avoiding the transparency requirement merely by filling a position through a referral, direct outreach or another process without a conventional advertisement.
Multi-Location Postings Need Separate Range Analysis
Maryland guidance explains that an advertised pay range is for a single position and a single location. Where one advertisement combines multiple locations or materially different levels of seniority, separate ranges may be required for each location or opportunity. National employers should therefore be careful with broad postings that list several offices under one compensation line. A cleaner process is to map each approved location to its corresponding range and required benefits information before the posting is distributed.
A Maryland Compliance Workflow Should Cover Both Postings and Direct Recruiting
Employers can operationalize Maryland's rule by requiring a minimum wage, maximum wage, benefits description and other-compensation field before a covered posting can be published. The same approved compensation record should be available to recruiters handling direct outreach or referrals where no posting was provided to the candidate. Geographic screening should identify whether the role will be physically performed at least partly in Maryland. This process reduces the risk that a compliant public advertisement is undermined by an incomplete internal posting or recruiter conversation.
Frequently Asked Questions
When did Maryland's current wage range posting law take effect?
The expanded Maryland wage range transparency requirements took effect October 1, 2024 and apply to postings made or reposted on or after that date.
What must a Maryland job posting include?
A covered posting must include the minimum and maximum wage range, a general description of benefits and any other compensation offered for the position.
Does Maryland cover remote jobs?
It can. Maryland guidance says the law applies where work will be physically performed at least partly in Maryland, including certain remote roles seeking Maryland-based workers.
Related Guides
Official Sources
Requirements and practices differ by jurisdiction and organisation. Check current local law, official guidance and professional advice for a specific situation.