Connecticut Expands Pay Transparency Requirements Under H.B. 5003

Seyfarth Synopsis: Connecticut has amended its pay transparency law to significantly expand employer obligations related to wage disclosures, job postings, and hiring practices. Effective October 1, 2026, the law broadens affirmative disclosure requirements and strengthens restrictions on employer conduct involving wage discussions, salary history inquiries, and retaliation.

Connecticut’s enactment of H.B. 5003 reflects a continuing nationwide trend toward greater pay transparency and enhanced employee protections concerning compensation. While building on the state’s existing statutory framework, the amendments materially expand both the scope and timing of employer disclosure obligations, particularly in the recruiting and hiring context.

These changes are likely to have significant operational implications for employers, particularly those with multistate workforces, as Connecticut’s requirements now more closely align with (and in some respects expand upon) similar laws in jurisdictions such as New York and New Jersey.

Key Provisions of the Amended Pay Transparency Law

The amended statute both reinforces existing restrictions on employer conduct and imposes new affirmative obligations to disclose compensation and benefit information, significantly expanding Connecticut’s existing pay transparency framework.

Restrictions on Employer Conduct

Under existing law, employers may not:

• Restrict employee communications regarding wages, including by prohibiting employees from disclosing or discussing their own wages or the wages of another employee where such information has been voluntarily disclosed;
• Restrict employee inquiries into compensation, including by prohibiting employees from asking about the wages of other employees;
• Require employees to waive rights relating to wage transparency, including by requiring agreements that (i) prohibit disclosure or discussion of wages or (ii) prohibit inquiries into the wages of other employees that have been disclosed voluntarily by such other employee;
• Inquire into or seek an applicant’s wage or salary history, directly or through a third party, unless the applicant voluntarily discloses such information; provided that this restriction does not apply where federal or state law specifically authorizes the disclosure or verification of salary history for employment purposes, and that employers may inquire into an applicant’s compensation structure so long as they do not seek the value of such compensation;
• Take adverse action against employees for engaging in protected wage-related activity, including disclosing, discussing, or inquiring about wages, or otherwise exercising rights under the statute.

H.B. 5003 expands these protections by prohibiting retaliation or discrimination against an applicant or employee for exercising rights under the statute, including by refusing to interview or hire, failing to promote, or terminating employment.

Compensation and Benefits Disclosure Requirements

Connecticut’s existing law required employers to disclose the wage range for a position to an applicant upon the applicant’s request or prior to or at the time an offer of compensation is made, whichever occurred first. H.B. 5003 expands those obligations, requiring employers to disclose in an internal or public job advertisement the wages or wage range for the position and a general description of the benefits to be offered with such position. This expansion to include disclosures in job postings aligns with many other states’ requirements.

In addition to this new requirement, H.B. 5003 expands the existing disclosure requirements for applicants to require disclosure of a general description of benefits to be offered for the position and accelerates the timing of affirmative disclosure to the earliest of the applicant’s request or prior to any discussion of compensation or an offer of compensation. This disclosure is only required if the information has not already been made available to the applicant in an internal or public job advertisement.

H.B. 5003 also enhances the required disclosure for employees. Employers will now be required to disclose a general description of the benefits to be offered for the employee’s position in addition to the wage range for the position. The law defines “benefits” to include “health insurance benefits, retirement benefits, fringe benefits, paid leave and any other compensation other than wages to be offered with a position.” The timing of the disclosure remains unchanged and must occur upon the hiring of the employee, a change in the employee’s position, or the employee’s first request.

Definition of “Wage Range”

The new law slightly changes the definition of “wage range,” now defining it as the range of wages an employer sets in good faith for a position. Existing law defined it as the range of wages an employer anticipates relying on when setting wages. For most employers, this amendment will likely not require an overhaul of the ranges employers were already disclosing. The range may continue to be derived from any applicable pay scale, the range of compensation for comparable positions, the actual wages paid to employees in similar roles, or the employer’s budgeted amount for the position.

Scope

This amendment clarifies that the law applies to positions performed in Connecticut, as well as positions performed outside the state that report directly to a Connecticut-based supervisor or worksite. This clarification builds on prior Connecticut Department of Labor (“DOL”) guidance on the existing law. In that prior guidance, the DOL had advised that the Act applies to employers within the state using the services of one or more employees for pay even if such employees are located outside the physical confines of the state. The guidance also stated that the Act would not apply to an out-of-state “national” employer not located within the State of Connecticut, but would apply to any subsidiary of the “national” employer located within the physical confines of the state and hiring employees. The amendment now makes clear that for employers with locations nationwide, including in Connecticut, postings for remote positions outside of Connecticut will only be subject to the disclosure requirements if the position would report directly to a Connecticut-based supervisor or worksite. The Illinois and New York pay transparency laws include similar limitations on the reach of those laws.

Enforcement

Employees and applicants may bring a private cause of action for violations, with available remedies including compensatory damages, attorneys’ fees, and other legal or equitable relief. The amendment provides a small reprieve for employers in no longer allowing punitive damages to be awarded for a violation. Claims must be brought within two years of the alleged violation.

Key Takeaways for Employers

With an effective date of October 1, 2026, employers should begin preparing now for compliance. Employers should consider:

• Updating job posting templates to include wage ranges and benefits descriptions;
• Ensuring compensation ranges are documented and supportable as good faith ranges;
• Revising recruiting and employment processes to ensure timely disclosure to applicants and employees;
• Training Human Resources personnel and managers on expanded restrictions and anti-retaliation rules; and
• Coordinating compliance across jurisdictions for multistate workforces.