Stay Up To Date on the Latest State Legislation
Pay Transparency Laws are a growing movement across state and local legislation. These laws are a step forward to decreasing pay secrecy, increasing trust within companies and protecting employees as they pursue equal pay. To advocate for pay transparency laws in your state, click below.
As of 2025, 14 states have passed some form of pay transparency laws. Even more states have proposed such legislation. With this momentum at the state level, continuing to push states to enact comprehensive pay transparency laws will be key. While enforcement of equal pay laws has fallen short at the federal level, state legislation offers opportunities for pay tracking and reporting.
If you're an employee, check your state legislation for information on what pay data you should have access to, where you can report companies denying such requests, and how you will be protected.
Don't Forget About Your Local Legislation
If your state doesn't currently have pay transparency laws in effect, local laws may provide protections you are unaware of. Even in states with existing legislation, county wage laws can vary creating additional avenues for employees to access pay data and pursue equal pay. Click below to find Compa's Equal Pay Laws Tracker, with an expanded definition of pay transparency.
What's Missing?
A Guide to
Full Transparency
Pay transparency laws tackle varying aspects of how employers are allowed to determine pay and the information employees have access to from the moment they apply to a position. Even if states have such laws, they may not have a comprehensive transparency initiative in place. What is your country, state, or company missing?
Pay Scale Disclosure Laws
Such laws require companies to include salary ranges in all job postings. This leads to more informed negotiations and clearer pay expectations.
Anti-Pay Secrecy Laws
These laws nullify any company policies requiring employees to keep their pay secret and preventing pay discussions.
Parental Leave & Other Benefits
Other benefits aside from base salary play a significant role in the wage gap. Do you know what benefits you should be receiving?
Pay Data Reporting
A third party regularly reviews progress reports on a company's pay distribution and their efforts to achieve pay equality.
Access to Pay Structure & Criteria
Some laws require companies to share how pay varies by position and the criteria behind these salaries, providing reasoning to the structure.
Pay History Bans
Bans employers from looking at an employee's past salary to determine current pay, helping to break the cycle of unequal pay.
A Global Issue
As of 2025, not a single country has closed the gender wage gap. To overcome this stalled progress, a global view and effort is essential to providing all employees access to equal pay before the end of the century.
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Countries with the smallest wage gaps such as Luxembourg, which famously very briefly achieved a closed pay gap, can serve as models for what legislation and enforcement works.
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When employees face pay discrimination, intentionally or structurally, a country's economy is stunted, losing out on not only a more resilient but also innovative work force that is receiving the compensation they deserve.