Delaware law says employers must show their pay range before you even apply

New law hits employers in two years

Delaware will soon make employers show pay and benefits on paper.

Gov. Matt Meyer signed the pay transparency bill on Sept. 26, 2025, and it kicks in exactly two years later.

Starting Sept. 26, 2027, businesses with 26 or more workers must list salary ranges and benefits in every job posting, both internal and external.

Delaware now joins more than a dozen states and Washington, D.C., with similar rules on the books.

Employers must list pay and benefits

Every job posting will need to show the hourly rate or salary range, plus a general rundown of benefits like bonuses and commissions.

The pay range can be a good-faith estimate, the actual range paid to current workers in the same role, or the budgeted amount for the position.

If an employer skips that info in the posting, they still have to share it before making an offer, before discussing pay, or whenever the applicant asks.

Law covers Delaware jobs and some remote roles

The law applies to employers with 26 or more workers and covers jobs based in Delaware. It also reaches remote positions offered by Delaware-based companies, as long as they are not international roles.

One gray area: the law does not spell out whether that 26-employee count includes only workers in Delaware or staff in other states too.

That detail could matter for companies with teams spread across state lines.

Some jobs get a pass

Not every position falls under the new rules.

Temporary, interim, or acting jobs that need to be filled right away are exempt, and the Delaware Department of Labor may set specific guidelines for those short-term roles.

Jobs covered by a union contract also get a pass until that agreement gets renewed or changed after the law takes effect. Commission-based roles must note the pay structure but do not have to list a specific range.

Fines start at $500 after first warning

The law gives employers one chance. A first offense brings a written warning. After that, every violation carries a civil fine between $500 and $10,000.

Employers who fire or punish a worker for filing a complaint or helping with an investigation face the same fines.

The Delaware Department of Labor will handle enforcement through administrative proceedings, so these cases will not go through the court system.

Employers won’t pay for unauthorized reposts

Here is one thing employers do not have to worry about: if a third party copies a job listing and reposts it without permission, the employer is off the hook.

The third party is not on the hook either. The rule makes sure companies only face penalties for postings they actually put out themselves.

This protection matters because job listings often spread across aggregator sites that employers do not control.

Companies must keep pay records three years

The law adds a recordkeeping requirement too.

Employers must hold on to each worker’s job description, salary, and wage rate history for at least three years. Those records have to be available to the Delaware Department of Labor if they come asking.

For companies that do not already track this information in detail, that means building or updating their systems before the Sept. 2027 deadline.

Bill changed after business groups pushed back

The bill started out tougher. Rep. Melanie Ross Levin and Sen. Laura Sturgeon introduced it on Equal Pay Day in March 2025.

After feedback from groups like the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce, lawmakers raised the threshold to 26 employees and bumped the fine cap to $10,000.

The first version covered employers with more than 11 workers and capped fines at $2,000. The General Assembly passed the final version in June 2025, and Meyer signed it in September.

Supporters say transparency closes wage gaps

Backers of the law say listing pay ranges helps job seekers negotiate fair salaries and make better decisions about where to apply. Research suggests pay transparency can help narrow gender and racial wage gaps.

Lawmakers pointed to studies showing about 70% of companies that list pay ranges attract more applicants. Surveys have also found that 98% of workers believe employers should share pay ranges in job announcements.

Neighboring states already enforce similar laws

Delaware is not breaking new ground here.

New Jersey’s pay transparency law took effect on June 1, 2025, and Maryland already requires employers to share pay ranges and benefits in job ads.

Washington, D.C., has its own rules too. Delaware employers who hire across state lines may already follow some of these requirements.

The new law brings Delaware in line with the region and fills a gap for workers who apply to jobs within the state.

No federal law covers pay transparency

There is no nationwide rule that forces employers to list salary ranges. Congress has proposed the Paycheck Fairness Act, but it has not passed.

The National Labor Relations Act protects workers who discuss wages with each other, but it does not require anything in job postings.

That leaves a patchwork of state laws. Employers with teams in multiple states have to track different rules depending on where their workers sit.

Employers have about 18 months to prepare

Job seekers in Delaware will start seeing pay ranges in postings by September 2027. That gives employers roughly 18 months from now to get ready.

Experts recommend companies audit their current pay structures and update their job posting templates ahead of the deadline.

The law does not take effect for a while, but employers who wait until the last minute risk scrambling to meet the new requirements.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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