Montana pay transparency law: no range rule after SB 313 died, and no new session until 2027

Montana has no law that requires employers to put a pay range in job postings, as of November 2026. The 2025 Legislature had the chance: Senate Bill 313, the proposed Wage Opportunity and Transparency Act, would have required the pay or pay range and a description of benefits in every posting, banned salary history questions and protected pay discussions. It was tabled in committee on March 4, 2025 and died in process on May 23, 2025. Because the Legislature meets only in odd-numbered years, nothing could change in 2026; the next regular session convenes in January 2027. Montana cities are barred by statute from adding labor rules of their own, so the rules that can reach a Montana posting come from federal law and from states such as Washington and Colorado.

Does Montana require salary ranges in job postings?

No. Title 39 of the Montana Code, the labor title, has no posting, on-request or after-interview pay disclosure rule. A Billings, Missoula or Bozeman employer can post without a range and can ask about current pay as far as state law goes. The rest of Montana's hiring rules, from new hire reporting to posters, are in our guide to hiring employees in Montana.

What would Senate Bill 313 have required?

SB 313, introduced by Senator Morigeau, would have created the "Wage Opportunity and Transparency Act." Its wording followed Colorado's Equal Pay for Equal Work Act closely, down to the definition of an employer as "every other person employing a person in the state" and fines of $500 to $10,000 per violation. The introduced text would have:

• required an employer to "disclose in each posting for each job opening the hourly or salary compensation, or a range of the hourly or salary compensation, and a general description of all the benefits and other compensation to be offered to the hired applicant";
• covered postings made "directly by an employer or indirectly through a third party," electronic or printed;
• required employers to announce promotion opportunities to all current employees on the same calendar day, before deciding;
• barred employers from seeking an applicant's wage rate or salary history from the applicant or a current or former employer, and from retaliating against a prospective employee who does not disclose it;
• barred discipline or retaliation against employees who inquire about, disclose, compare or discuss their wage rate, and barred making silence about pay a condition of employment; and
• let the Commissioner of Labor and Industry fine employers $500 to $10,000 per violation.

The Legislature's record shows it was introduced on February 13, 2025, referred to Senate Judiciary, re-referred to Senate Business, Labor, and Economic Affairs on February 21, heard on February 27 and tabled on March 4. It missed the March 12 deadline for transmitting general bills to the House and died in process on May 23, 2025. We found no other pay transparency bill in the Legislature's 2025 bill list.

When could Montana pass a pay range law?

Not before 2027. Article V, section 6 of the Montana Constitution says "the legislature shall meet each odd-numbered year in regular session of not more than 90 legislative days," and the governor or a majority of members can call a special session. There was no regular session in 2026, so SB 313's subjects could only return as new bills in the session that convenes in January 2027. If one passes, it will carry its own effective date; watch the Legislature's bill system from January.

What Montana pay laws apply now?

Two, and both are about equal pay rather than disclosure.

• Equal pay for women. Montana Code 39-3-104, dating from 1919, makes it unlawful for "the state or any county, municipal entity, school district, public or private corporation, person, or firm to employ women in any occupation within the state for compensation less than that paid to men for equivalent service or for the same amount or class of work." A violation is a misdemeanor with a fine of $25 to $500 for each offense.
• The Montana Human Rights Act. Section 49-2-303(1)(a) bars an employer from discriminating "against a person in compensation" because of race, creed, religion, color, national origin, age, physical or mental disability, marital status or sex. Section 49-2-101 defines an employer as "an employer of one or more persons," with exceptions for some nonprofit fraternal, charitable and religious organizations.

The federal Equal Pay Act adds a claim against virtually all employers for unequal pay on jobs that are "substantially equal," according to the EEOC's equal pay page. Because the Human Rights Act reaches employers with a single employee, small Montana employers have less room than in states where discrimination laws start at 15 workers.

Can Missoula, Bozeman or another Montana city require pay ranges?

Very unlikely, and we found none that has. Self-governing Montana cities and counties are denied specific powers by Montana Code 7-1-111, including:

• "any power that applies to or affects the provisions of 7-33-4128 or Title 39, except that subject to those provisions, it may exercise any power of a public employer with regard to its employees" (subsection 2); and
• "any power to require an employer, other than the local government unit itself, to provide an employee or class of employees with a wage or employment benefit that is not required by state or federal law" (subsection 23).

A city ordinance requiring private employers to publish pay would sit squarely in labor law, so Montana is one of the states where a statewide statute is the only realistic route. A city can still list pay in its own job postings.

Can Montana employees discuss their pay?

We found no Montana statute that specifically protects pay discussions; SB 313 would have added one. Most private-sector employees are covered by the National Labor Relations Act, and the NLRB lists "talking with one or more co-workers about your wages and benefits or other working conditions" as protected concerted activity. Pay-secrecy rules in handbooks are a federal risk in Montana.

Which other states' laws reach a Montana job posting?

Washington's law applies to employers that engage in business in Washington and employ one or more employees, with the posting rule limited to employers with 15 or more employees; how the state's Department of Labor and Industries counts remote staff is in our Washington guide. Colorado's Department of Labor and Employment says a remote posting by a covered employer is covered even if it says Colorado residents will not be considered; see the Colorado guide. Other states' remote-work tests are compared on pay transparency for remote jobs.

Do federal rules require pay ranges?

No. The federal contractor rule that protected pay discussions, 41 CFR 60-1.35, depended on Executive Order 11246, which Executive Order 14173 revoked on January 21, 2025. The Department of Labor's final rule removed the order's regulations, including part 60-1, effective October 26, 2026 (91 FR 54444); see job posting requirements for federal contractors. The Equal Pay Act and the NLRA still apply in Montana.

What should Montana recruiters and staffing agencies do?

1. Ask whether a Washington or Colorado resident could fill the role. If yes, and the employer is covered there, the posting needs a range and a benefits line, plus a close date for Colorado.
2. Keep a range ready for every requisition. Candidates who also look at Spokane jobs will see posted ranges there; see how to set salary ranges for job postings.
3. Ask about expectations rather than history on multistate desks; see salary expectation questions.
4. Agencies: confirm the client's range and the work location at intake. Montana agency rules are in staffing agency licensing in Montana, and posting duties when you recruit for a client are in pay transparency for staffing agencies.
5. Watch the 2027 session. A revived SB 313 would change every Montana posting at once.

Example wording (example figures): "This field technician role pays $28 to $34 an hour, plus a truck and per diem on travel weeks. What are you looking for?"

Montana at a glance

More Montana rules: ban the box in Montana, Montana background check laws, Montana non-compete laws and E-Verify in Montana. For every state's rule, see pay transparency laws by state.