Idaho pay transparency law: no range rule, Idaho's 1969 equal pay act, and Washington and Nevada next door (2026)

Idaho has no law that requires employers to put a pay range in job postings or to give one on request, as of November 2026, and no law that bars salary history questions. The Legislature's 2025 and 2026 legislation lists show no bill on either. What applies is Idaho's 1969 equal pay act, Idaho Code 44-1702, a pay-rate notice at hire, the Idaho Human Rights Act, federal equal pay law, and two neighbors with posting rules: Washington, which requires ranges in postings, and Nevada, which requires a range after an interview.

Does Idaho require a salary range in job postings?

No. Nothing in the Idaho Code tells an employer what a job advertisement must say about pay, and there is no on-request or after-interview disclosure duty. A Boise, Meridian or Idaho Falls employer can post without a range and can ask what a candidate earns now, as far as Idaho law goes. The rest of Idaho's hiring rules are in our guide to hiring employees in Idaho.

Other Idaho screening rules have their own pages: background checks, criminal history questions and E-Verify.

Has the Idaho Legislature considered a pay transparency bill?

Not in this cycle. The Legislature publishes every bill of a session with its subject index. We read the 2025 and 2026 lists in November 2026: the employment and wage entries cover minimum wage preemption, earned wage access, verifying workers' legal status, background checks for health and welfare jobs and public pay, but no bill on pay ranges in job postings, pay disclosure to applicants or salary history.

What does Idaho's equal pay law require?

Idaho Code 44-1702, "Discriminatory payment of wages based upon sex prohibited," was added in 1969. It has three parts:

• Subsection (1). "No employer shall discriminate between or among employees in the same establishment on the basis of sex, by paying wages to any employee in any occupation in this state at a rate less than the rate at which he pays any employee of the opposite sex for comparable work on jobs which have comparable requirements relating to skill, effort and responsibility." Differentials paid under seniority or merit increase systems that do not discriminate by sex are not prohibited.
• Subsection (2). "No person shall cause or attempt to cause an employer to discriminate against any employee in violation of this act." This is the line for recruiters: it is addressed to any person, not only the employer.
• Subsection (3). No employer may discharge or discriminate against an employee for acting to enforce or assist in enforcing the act.

Two features differ from the federal Equal Pay Act: "comparable work" rather than "equal work," and the two permitted differentials named in the section, seniority and merit increase systems. The Idaho Human Rights Act adds a broader rule: Idaho Code 67-5909(1) bars an employer from discriminating against an individual "with respect to compensation" because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age or disability, and subsection (2) covers employment agencies. Under 67-5902(6) an employer is a person who hires five or more employees for each working day in 20 or more calendar weeks of the current or preceding year, whose work is performed partly or wholly in Idaho.

Does Idaho require employers to tell new hires their pay?

Yes, once they are hired. Idaho Code 45-610(2) says: "Every employer shall give notice to its employees at the time of hiring of the rate of pay and the usual day of payment, and shall provide such information in writing to the employee upon the employee's request." Subsection (1) requires employment records to be kept for at least three years after the employee's last day. This is not a posting rule, but it means every offer should end in a stated rate the employer can put in writing.

Which federal rules apply to Idaho employers?

• Equal Pay Act and Title VII. The EEOC's equal pay page says the Equal Pay Act covers virtually all employers and requires equal pay for "substantially equal" jobs; Title VII and the ADA add pay claims at 15 or more employees.
• Prior pay in the Ninth Circuit. Idaho is in the Ninth Circuit, whose en banc court held in Rizo v. Yovino (2020) that "an employee's prior pay cannot serve as an affirmative defense to a prima facie showing of an EPA violation," alone or with other factors. Asking about pay is still lawful in Idaho, but an offer built on it is hard to defend.
• Pay discussions. The NLRB lists "talking with one or more co-workers about your wages and benefits" as protected concerted activity.
• Federal contractors. OFCCP's pay transparency provision, 41 CFR 60-1.35, is not in force. Executive Order 14173 revoked Executive Order 11246 on January 21, 2025, and the Labor Department's final rule rescinded part 60-1 effective October 26, 2026 (91 FR 54444). See job posting requirements for federal contractors.

When do Washington or Nevada rules reach an Idaho job?

Often. Coeur d'Alene and Post Falls sit next to Spokane, Lewiston faces Clarkston across the Snake River, and southern Idaho borders Nevada, so many Idaho reqs draw candidates from a posting state.

Washington also restricts salary history questions; see the Washington salary history ban. For roles open anywhere, see pay transparency for remote jobs and the full list in pay transparency laws by state.

What should recruiters and staffing agencies hiring in Idaho do?

1. Flag panhandle and remote reqs at intake. If a Washington resident could do the job from Washington, post the range and benefits.
2. Have the range ready by the first interview for any Nevada job. Nevada makes it due to every interviewed applicant, and the duty applies to agencies too.
3. Ask about expectations, not current pay. It is lawful to ask in Idaho, but it is barred in Nevada and Washington, and prior pay will not defend a gap in the Ninth Circuit; see salary expectation questions.
4. Agencies: do not pass along pressure to pay one sex less. Idaho Code 44-1702(2) applies to any person who causes or attempts to cause the discrimination. Agency licensing is covered in staffing agency license in Idaho.
5. Put the agreed rate in writing at hire, as Idaho Code 45-610(2) expects on request.

Example only: a Post Falls software company with 40 employees posts two roles. "Maintenance technician, on site in Post Falls" is tied to an Idaho worksite, so a range is good practice but, under the Washington agency guidance our Washington guide describes, not a Washington requirement. "Customer success manager, remote (Idaho or Washington), $68,000 to $80,000, medical, dental, 401(k) match" can be done from Spokane, so it carries the range and benefits.

Idaho pay rules at a glance

An Idaho posting checklist

IDAHO POSTING CHECKLIST (as of November 2026)

[ ] Idaho-only, on-site role: range optional under state law
[ ] Could a Washington-based person do the job? Range (or fixed wage)
    + general description of benefits
[ ] Job in Nevada? Range or rate ready for every interviewed applicant;
    no salary history questions
[ ] Remote role: check each state the ad is open to
[ ] Screen asks about expectations, not current pay
[ ] Rate of pay and payday stated at hire, in writing on request
[ ] Offer reason written down in job-related terms
[ ] Agency: client's range and benefits received in writing