Minnesota pay transparency law: salary ranges in postings at 30+ employees

Minnesota has required salary ranges in job postings since January 1, 2025. An employer with 30 or more employees at one or more Minnesota sites must disclose the starting salary range and a general description of all benefits and other compensation in each posting, and the range may not be open ended. The law is short and specific about what a posting says, and nearly silent on remote roles and penalties, so this guide separates what the statute settles from what it leaves open.

The statute

The rule is Minn. Stat. § 181.173, "Salary ranges required in job postings," added by 2024 Minnesota Session Laws chapter 110, article 7, section 2. The session law states that the section "is effective January 1, 2025." As of October 2026, the Revisor's site shows no amendments to the section since it was enacted.

Who is covered

The section defines "employer" as a person or entity that "employs 30 or more employees at one or more sites in Minnesota." The definition expressly includes individuals, corporations, partnerships, associations, nonprofits, and public bodies: the state, counties, towns, cities, school districts and other governmental subdivisions.

Two features of that definition shape coverage:

• The count is Minnesota employees. Unlike Hawaii or Maine, where the statute does not say where employees must be, Minnesota counts employees at Minnesota sites. A national company with 2,000 employees but only 12 in Minnesota is outside this definition.
• "One or more sites" adds them up. An employer with 15 employees in Duluth and 15 in Rochester has 30 at Minnesota sites and is covered.

The statute does not say how to count part-time or remote employees who live in Minnesota but have no assigned site. If your count is close to 30, treat remote Minnesota-based employees as counting.

What a Minnesota posting must include

Subdivision 2 requires an employer to disclose, "in each posting for each job opening with the employer":

1. The starting salary range. The statute defines "salary range" as the minimum and maximum annual salary or hourly range of compensation, based on the employer's good faith estimate, for the job at the time of posting.
2. A general description of all of the benefits and other compensation to be offered to a hired applicant, "including but not limited to any health or retirement benefits."

Two more rules close common loopholes:

• No open-ended ranges. "A salary range may not be open ended." Phrases such as "$60,000+" or "up to $90,000" fail.
• Fixed rate if there is no range. An employer that does not plan to offer a range "must list a fixed pay rate."

"Starting" is a deliberate word. The range is what a new hire would be paid at the start, not the full band the role can grow into. If your pay structure has a wide band, post the hiring portion of it.

"Other compensation" reaches bonuses, commissions, equity and similar pay. A sentence such as "eligible for an annual bonus target of 10% of base, plus medical, dental, 401(k) with match and paid time off" (an example, not a template you must use) covers both halves. For writing the rest of the posting so it screens well, see how to write a job description that screens.

What counts as a posting

A "posting" is "any solicitation intended to recruit job applicants for a specific available position, including recruitment done directly by an employer or indirectly through a third party," in electronic or printed form, "that includes qualifications for desired applicants." Agency and job board ads for a specific role are covered. A general "join our team" message with no specific position and no qualifications is not.

The section does not single out internal postings or promotions. Its definition of posting is about recruiting "job applicants" for a "specific available position," which on its face does not exclude current employees applying internally. Using the same format for internal and external postings avoids the question.

Remote roles

The statute does not address remote positions. Coverage turns on the employer having 30 or more employees at Minnesota sites; it does not say whether a covered employer's posting for a job performed outside Minnesota needs a range, or whether a remote job open to Minnesota residents does. Most multi-state employers simply include the range in every posting, which also satisfies neighboring Illinois; see the Illinois pay transparency guide for that state's rules.

Enforcement: what we could and could not confirm

Section 181.173 does not contain a penalty, a fine schedule or a private right of action. What we verified:

• Agency and Attorney General. Minn. Stat. § 181.1721 provides that "in addition to the enforcement of this chapter by the department, the attorney general may enforce this chapter" under section 8.31. Chapter 181 is enforced by the Department of Labor and Industry.
• The general private-action section does not list it. Minn. Stat. § 181.171 lets a person sue directly over a specific list of chapter 181 sections, and 181.173 is not on that list.
• The compliance-order list does not name it either. The list of sections for which the commissioner may issue compliance orders under § 177.27, subd. 4, as published for 2025, does not mention 181.173.

We could not confirm a specific dollar penalty for a noncompliant Minnesota posting on an official source. That is a gap in the statute, not a safe harbor: the Attorney General's authority under section 8.31 is broad, and the department can investigate.

Common mistakes with Minnesota postings

• Benefits left off the agency copy. The posting definition includes recruitment "indirectly through a third party," so the benefits paragraph has to travel with the range into every agency and job board version.
• "Competitive salary" with no numbers. The statute requires the starting range itself; a description of pay as competitive or market-rate does not meet it.
• A range for the job family instead of the opening. The range must be for "a job opportunity of the employer at the time of the posting," so a single posting for one level should not carry the band for every level.
• Forgetting public employers. Cities, counties and school districts with 30 or more employees are expressly included, and their postings sometimes rely on a link to a pay schedule rather than stating the range for the specific opening.
• Counting only full-time staff. The definition says "employees," not full-time employees. Count part-time staff toward the 30 unless counsel advises otherwise.

Pay history questions are separately banned

Minnesota's Human Rights Act, Minn. Stat. § 363A.08, subd. 8, added in 2023, bars an employer, employment agency or labor organization from inquiring into, considering or requiring disclosure "from any source" of an applicant's pay history for the purpose of setting their pay. Pay history is defined broadly to include benefits and any other compensation. An applicant may volunteer it without prompting, and the employer may then use it to support a higher offer than initially made. Employment agencies are named directly, so recruiters carry this duty themselves. See salary expectation questions for wording that asks about expectations instead.

A Minnesota posting checklist

MINNESOTA POSTING CHECKLIST (Minn. Stat. § 181.173, from January 1, 2025)

[ ] 30 or more employees at one or more Minnesota sites
[ ] Posting is for a specific position and lists qualifications
[ ] Starting salary range (minimum and maximum), good faith estimate
[ ] No open-ended range; fixed rate listed if no range is offered
[ ] General description of ALL benefits and other compensation,
    including health and retirement
[ ] Same range and benefits text in agency and job board versions
[ ] No pay history questions from any source, by employer or agency

For how Minnesota compares with the other states that require a posted range, see pay transparency laws by state.