It is unlawful to base an employee's pay or career advancement opportunities on an employee’s gender or membership in a protected class.

Employees also have the right to discuss their wages and access certain wage and salary information.

Equal pay

Gender or membership in a protected class cannot be a reason for pay differences between employees with similar jobs. Jobs are similar based on their skill, effort, and responsibility, not the job title. Differences in pay for similar jobs may be acceptable only in certain circumstances.

Equal career advancement opportunities

Employers cannot limit or deprive an employee of career advancement opportunities based on gender or membership in a protected class.

Acceptable reasons

Differences in compensation or career advancement opportunities among employees may be acceptable if the difference is based on justifiable factors not related to gender or protected class status, such as:

• Differences in education, training, or experience.
• Seniority.
• Merit/work performance.
• Production quantity or quality.

For pay differences only, justifiable factors may also include:

• Regional differences in compensation.
• Differences in local minimum wages.
• Job-related factors consistent with business need.

Employers bear the burden of proof to justify why pay differences exist. An employee's previous wage or salary history cannot be used to justify pay differences based on gender or membership in another protected class.

Open wage discussions

Employers cannot prohibit employees from disclosing, comparing, or talking about their wages or the wages of other employees. Employers also cannot make employees sign wage non-disclosure agreements.

Employers can require employees who have access to other employees' wage information as part of their job duties, such as employees who work in human resources, to keep that information confidential.

Protection from discrimination, retaliation, and firing

Employers cannot retaliate against an employee for talking about wages, filing a complaint with L&I, talking to L&I during an investigation, or using any other right under the Equal Pay and Opportunities Act. Employers also cannot retaliate against employees who ask about their wages or lack of opportunity for advancement.

Access to wage or salary information

Employers must provide an employee who is offered an internal transfer or promotion with the wage scale or salary range of their new position, upon request by the employee. If the employer is offering only a fixed wage amount for the new position or promotion, the employer must disclose the fixed wage amount rather than a scale or range. 

Employers with fewer than 15 employees do not have to meet this requirement.

Required driver’s license

Effective July 27, 2025, employers may not require employees to have a driver’s license unless driving is an essential job function or part of a job’s legitimate business purpose.

Hiring practices such as asking an applicant for their salary history or requiring an applicant to provide a minimum previous salary can contribute to ongoing earning inequalities, and are prohibited by law.

The following protections apply to job applicants and employees seeking new positions.

Wage and salary history privacy

Employers cannot seek the wage or salary history of an applicant. An employer may confirm an applicant's salary after the employer negotiates and makes an offer of employment that includes pay and the offer is accepted by the applicant.

Applicants can voluntarily disclose their wage or salary history to prospective employers.

Protection from wage and salary history requirements for applicants

Employers cannot require that an applicant's prior wage or salary history meet certain criteria to be considered for the job.

Access to minimum wage or salary information for applicants

Employers must provide job applicants and employees with the wage scale or salary range, a general description of benefits, and other compensation on a job posting. If the employer is offering only a fixed wage amount for the new position or promotion, the employer must disclose the fixed wage amount rather than a scale or range.

These job posting requirements only apply to employers with 15 or more employees.

Required driver’s license

Beginning July 27, 2025, employers may not require applicants to have a driver’s license unless driving is an essential job function or part of a job’s legitimate business purpose.

Employers with 15 or more employees must include a wage scale or salary range, a general description of all benefits, and a general description of other compensation in job postings. 

If the employer is offering only a fixed wage amount for the new position or promotion, the employer must disclose the fixed wage amount rather than a scale or range.

A “posting” is defined as any solicitation, including recruitment done directly by an employer or indirectly through a third party, intended to recruit job applicants that includes all of the following:

• Electronic or printed hard copy.
• Qualifications for desired applicants.
• Specific available position.

Postings do not include solicitations published without an employer’s consent.

Requirements explained

L&I’s Employment Standards Program developed administrative policy ES.E.1 to help employers better understand the requirements.

A wage scale or salary range should provide applicants with the employer’s most reasonable and genuinely expected compensation range for the job at the time of posting. The range should extend from the lowest to the highest pay established by the employer prior to posting the job, such as $60,000-$80,000 per year.

The range should be clear without open-ended phrases such as “$60,000/per year and up” (with no top of the range), or “up to $29.00/hour” (with no bottom of the scale).

If the employer does not already have an existing wage scale or salary range for a position, a scale or range should be created prior to publishing the posting.

Employers may include a more specific hiring wage scale or salary range if they do not intend to hire within the full range. Employers may also provide a single wage amount if they are only offering a fixed amount.

A “general description of all benefits” includes health care benefits, retirement benefits, any benefits permitting paid days off (including more generous paid sick leave accruals, parental leave, and paid time off or vacation benefits), and any other fringe benefits that must be reported for federal tax purposes.

“Other compensation” includes bonuses, commissions, profit-sharing, stock options, or other forms of compensation that would be offered to the hired applicant in addition to their established pay.

L&I has created a Job Posting Requirements factsheet (F700-225-000) to assist employers with understanding what constitutes a job posting, the information required on job postings, and to offer examples of job postings that would meet the requirements.

Required driver’s license

Beginning July 27, 2025, employers may not include a statement on a job posting requiring a valid driver’s license unless driving is an essential job function or part of a job’s legitimate business purpose.

For questions about the job posting requirements, email our Equal Pay agents or call 360-902-6625.