Connecticut pay transparency law: the October 2026 posting rule explained

From October 1, 2026, every Connecticut employer with at least one employee must put the wage or wage range and a general description of benefits in each internal and public job advertisement. Until that date, Connecticut was an "on request" state: an employer only had to hand over the range when an applicant asked or when an offer was made. Public Act 26-12 changed that, added a test that pulls in remote roles reporting to a Connecticut supervisor or office, and tightened the timing for roles that are never advertised.

The statute and what changed in 2026

The rule lives in Conn. Gen. Stat. § 31-40z, the same section that already protected employees who discuss their pay and, since Public Act 18-8, barred employers from asking about an applicant's wage and salary history. Section 2 of Public Act 26-12 (Substitute House Bill 5003) repealed and replaced the section, effective October 1, 2026. Comparing the old and new text, the changes that matter to a recruiter are:

• A new posting duty. An employer may not "fail or refuse to disclose in an internal or public job advertisement" the wages or wage range for the position and a general description of its benefits.
• Benefits are now part of every disclosure. "Benefits" is newly defined as health insurance, retirement benefits, fringe benefits, paid leave and any other non-wage compensation offered with the position.
• Earlier timing for unadvertised roles. If a position was never advertised to the applicant, the range and benefits description must be given at the earliest of the applicant's request or before any discussion of compensation or offer. The old trigger was "prior to or at the time" of an offer.
• A geographic test. New subsection (f) covers positions performed in Connecticut and positions performed elsewhere that report directly to a Connecticut supervisor, office or worksite.
• A good-faith range. The wage range is now the range the employer "sets in good faith" for the position, replacing the older "anticipates relying on" wording.
• Remedies narrowed slightly. Punitive damages were struck from the list of remedies a court may award.

Which employers are covered

There is no headcount threshold. The statute defines an employer as any individual, corporation, limited liability company, firm, partnership, voluntary association, joint stock association, the state, any political subdivision and any public corporation within the state "using the services of one or more employees for pay." A five-person startup and a state agency carry the same posting duty.

That makes Connecticut one of the broadest states in this series by employer size, alongside Colorado, Maryland and Virginia. It also means a national employer with no Connecticut office can be covered for a single role, because coverage follows the position, not the company's headquarters.

What a Connecticut job advertisement must include

For each internal or public job advertisement, the employer must disclose:

• The wages or the wage range for the position. A single figure is allowed where that is the genuine rate; otherwise give a range.
• A general description of the benefits offered with the position, covering the categories in the new definition: health insurance, retirement, fringe benefits, paid leave and other non-wage compensation.

The statute says the range may be built by reference to an applicable pay scale, a previously determined range for the position, the actual range paid to employees in comparable positions, or the budgeted amount. Using one of those sources, and keeping a record of which one you used, is the most practical way to show the range was set in good faith. The section does not carve out commission-based or tipped roles the way Vermont and Delaware do, and its definition of wages already includes pay determined on a commission basis, so describe how commission is earned and give whatever base or expected range applies.

"Internal" matters. A posting on your intranet for a promotion or transfer is covered just like an ad on a job board. If you use a standard internal format, update it now; the internal job posting template already has a pay and benefits block you can adapt.

Roles that are never advertised, and current employees

Plenty of hiring happens without a posting: a referral, a sourced candidate, a role created for a specific person. For those, the range and benefits description must reach the applicant at the earliest of two points: when the applicant asks, or before any discussion of compensation or offer. In practice that means the recruiter should give the range on the first call where pay comes up, before asking the candidate what they are looking for.

Current employees keep the rights they had before, now with benefits added. An employer must give an employee the wage range for their position, with a general description of benefits, at hire, when the employee's position changes, and on the employee's first request.

Remote roles and the reporting test

Subsection (f) applies the section to any position whose duties will be performed in Connecticut, and to a position performed outside the state that requires the employee to report directly to a supervisor, office or other worksite in Connecticut. That mirrors the approach New York uses under Labor Law 194-b, covered in our New York pay transparency guide. A fully remote role reporting to a manager in Hartford is covered even if the hire lives in Florida. A remote role performed in Connecticut is covered even if it reports to an office in Texas.

Salary history and retaliation

Section 31-40z still prohibits an employer from inquiring, or directing a third party to inquire, about a prospective employee's wage and salary history unless the applicant volunteered it. The employer may ask about other elements of the candidate's compensation structure, such as whether they have a bonus or equity, but not the value of those elements. Asking what the candidate wants next is a different question; see salary expectation questions for wording that stays on the right side of the line.

The amended section also bars retaliating or discriminating against an applicant or employee for exercising these rights, "including, but not limited to," refusing to interview, hire or promote, or terminating them. A candidate who asks for the range, or points out that a posting is missing one, is exercising a right under the section.

Enforcement and penalties

The absence of a per-posting fine does not make this low-risk. Because attorney's fees are recoverable and any prospective employee can bring the claim, a missing range on a widely viewed ad can draw claims from more than one applicant.

What this means for agencies posting a client's role

The posting duty sits on the employer, but a third-party recruiter's ad for a Connecticut role is still a public job advertisement for that position, and the salary history prohibition expressly reaches an employer that directs a third party to ask. Agencies should treat the client's range and benefits summary as a required field at intake for any role performed in Connecticut or reporting to someone there, and refuse to publish a Connecticut ad without it. If you place candidates across the Northeast, the same intake step covers New York, Massachusetts, Vermont and Rhode Island, each with slightly different rules summarized in the pay transparency laws by state overview.

A Connecticut posting checklist

CONNECTICUT JOB ADVERTISEMENT CHECKLIST (from October 1, 2026)

[ ] Role is performed in Connecticut, OR is performed elsewhere but
    reports directly to a Connecticut supervisor, office or worksite
[ ] No size test: one employee is enough to be covered
[ ] Ad states the wages or a wage range set in good faith
[ ] Source of the range recorded (pay scale, prior range, comparable
    employees' actual pay, or budget)
[ ] Ad includes a general description of benefits: health, retirement,
    fringe benefits, paid leave, other non-wage compensation
[ ] Internal postings for promotions and transfers include the same
[ ] Unadvertised roles: range and benefits given at the applicant's
    request or before any pay discussion or offer, whichever is first
[ ] Screeners do not ask about current or past pay, or the value of
    bonus or equity elements
[ ] Existing employees get their own range at hire, on a change of
    position, and on first request

Ads that went live before October 1, 2026 and are still running are the easy thing to miss. The duty is framed as a failure to disclose in an advertisement, so review every open Connecticut requisition, not just new ones.