Kansas pay transparency law: no range rule, the K.S.A. 44-320 pay notice, and Colorado and Kansas City rules (2026)

Kansas has no law that requires employers to put a pay range in job postings or to give one to applicants, as of November 2026, and a search of the Kansas Legislature's 2025–2026 bills and statutes finds no bill that would add one. The closest Kansas rule is a pay notice for people already hired: K.S.A. 44-320 requires an employer, when an employee asks, to state the rate of pay in writing. Pay decisions are governed by the Kansas Act Against Discrimination, the federal Equal Pay Act and Title VII, while Kansas City, Missouri's salary history ban and Colorado's posting law can reach Kansas desks from across the state lines.

Does Kansas require a salary range in job postings?

No. No Kansas statute says what a job advertisement must disclose about pay, and there is no duty to give a range on request or after an interview. A Wichita, Topeka or Overland Park employer may post without a range and, under Kansas law, may ask what a candidate earns now. Our Kansas salary history guide covers that second question in detail, including the Tenth Circuit's rule on using prior pay, and the rest of the state's hiring rules are in our Kansas hiring guide.

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

Has the Kansas Legislature considered a pay transparency bill?

Not in the 2025–2026 biennium. We searched the Legislature's combined bill, statute and document search on November 3, 2026:

The last bill on pay history we found is HB 2637 of 2020, which would have barred employers and employment agencies from requiring or using compensation history and died in committee; our salary history guide has its record. We found no posting bill in the 2025–2026 biennium.

What must a Kansas employer tell employees about pay?

K.S.A. 44-320, part of the Kansas Wage Payment Act, says each employer shall:

• "Upon the request of the employee, notify such employee in writing or as required by a collective bargaining agreement, of the rate of pay and of the day and place of payment";
• on request, notify the employee in writing or by a posted notice of any change in those arrangements before the change;
• on request, make available in writing or by posted notice its policies "with regard to vacation pay, sick leave and any other benefits to which the employee is entitled and which have a direct bearing upon wages payable"; and
• on request, give an itemized statement of deductions for each pay period.

The duty runs to employees and is triggered by a request, so it is not a transparency law. In practice it means the rate and benefits a recruiter quotes at offer should match what the employer will put in writing when the new hire asks.

Which Kansas laws cover pay discrimination?

The Kansas Act Against Discrimination. K.S.A. 44-1009(a)(1) makes it unlawful for an employer to discriminate "in compensation" because of race, religion, color, sex, disability, national origin or ancestry, or "to follow any employment procedure or practice which, in fact, results in discrimination, segregation or separation without a valid business necessity." Paragraph (a)(3) covers job advertising directly: no employer or employment agency may print or circulate an advertisement, use an application form or make a pre-employment inquiry that expresses a limitation based on those traits unless it rests on a bona fide occupational qualification. Paragraph (a)(5) bars employment agencies from honoring a client's discriminatory referral request.

The state equal pay statute. K.S.A. 44-1205 bars paying one sex less for equal work in the same establishment, with the federal Act's four exceptions. It sits in the Kansas minimum wage law, whose definition of employer in K.S.A. 44-1202(d) excludes any employer subject to the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, so most Kansas employers answer to the federal Equal Pay Act instead.

Can a Kansas city require pay ranges?

We found no Kansas city or county ordinance requiring pay ranges as of November 2026. Kansas does limit local employment rules: K.S.A. 12-16,130 says no city, county or local government unit shall enact or administer an ordinance requiring an employer to provide leave not required by state or federal law, pay for such leave, "pay compensation or wages at any rate higher than the minimum wage," offer an employee benefit beyond state or federal requirements, or alter employee scheduling. The list does not include job postings or questions to applicants, so the statute does not decide whether a local posting rule would survive.

Which federal rules apply to Kansas 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 Tenth Circuit. In Riser v. QEP Energy (2015) the court said the Act "precludes an employer from relying solely upon a prior salary to justify pay disparity."
• 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).

When do Colorado or Kansas City, Missouri rules reach a Kansas job?

For roles open to candidates in other states, see pay transparency for remote jobs and pay transparency laws by state.

What should recruiters and staffing agencies hiring in Kansas do?

1. Sort each req by location at intake: Kansas only, Kansas City, Missouri employer, Colorado, or remote.
2. For Colorado-linked or remote reqs, post the range, benefits and a close date.
3. For Kansas City, Missouri clients, drop salary history from the screen, the application and reference checks. Ask about expectations; wording is in salary expectation questions.
4. Make sure the offer rate matches what the client will confirm under K.S.A. 44-320 if the new hire asks for it in writing.
5. Agencies: get the client's range and benefits in writing and refuse any referral request that K.S.A. 44-1009(a)(5) forbids. Licensing is covered in staffing agency license in Kansas.

Example only: an Overland Park staffing firm has three open reqs. A Lenexa warehouse role needs no range under Kansas law. A controller role for a client located in Kansas City, Missouri, with 200 employees, is posted with no salary history question. A remote analyst role open to Denver candidates is posted as "$70,000 to $84,000, medical, dental, 401(k), applications close December 1," which covers Colorado's three items.

Kansas pay rules at a glance

A Kansas posting checklist

KANSAS POSTING CHECKLIST (as of November 2026)

[ ] Kansas-only role: range optional under state law; have one ready
[ ] Employer located in Kansas City, Missouri, with 6+ employees?
    No salary history questions, screens or reliance
[ ] Colorado employee or remote role open to Colorado?
    Pay or range + benefits + application close date
[ ] Remote role: check each state the ad is open to
[ ] Offer rate matches what the employer will confirm in writing
    (K.S.A. 44-320)
[ ] Offer reason written down; prior pay never the only reason
[ ] No pay-secrecy language; agency has the client's range in writing