Ohio pay transparency law: no state rule, but Cleveland and Columbus require ranges

Ohio has no statewide pay transparency law, as of October 2026: the state's wage law, Revised Code chapter 4111, has no posting or range disclosure section. Four cities fill the gap for employers with 15 or more employees in the city. Cleveland has required a salary range or scale in job postings since October 27, 2025. Columbus added the same duty in November 2025 and will enforce it from January 1, 2027. Cincinnati and Toledo require the pay scale on reasonable request after a conditional offer. All four also ban salary history questions.

Does Ohio require salary ranges in job postings?

Not statewide. Chapter 4111 covers minimum wage, overtime, records and pay discrimination, and nothing in it requires an employer to disclose pay to applicants. Its equal pay section, R.C. 4111.17, bars paying an employee less than another for equal work on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin or ancestry, and applies to the state and its political subdivisions too. That is a pay rule, not a disclosure rule. Ohio has no statewide salary history ban either; the city bans are compared on our Ohio salary history page.

Which Ohio cities require pay ranges?

Cleveland: ranges in postings since October 27, 2025

Cleveland's chapter 669, enacted as Ordinance 104-2025 (passed April 28, 2025), says employers "shall provide the Salary range or scale for potential Employment in the notification, advertisement, or other formal posting that offers the opportunity to apply for Employment" (§ 669.02(c)). The chapter defines "Salary" to include wages, commissions, hourly earnings and other monetary earnings, "and also includes benefits," and covers applicants for work performed within the city whose applications are solicited, received, processed or considered there.

The requirement does not apply to internal transfers or promotions, rehires where the employer already has the applicant's pay history, positions whose pay is set by collective bargaining, or government employers other than the City. The city's Fair Employment Wage Board page says complaints must be filed within 180 days, employers get 90 days to cure a violation without penalty, and civil penalties then range up to $1,000 for a first offense and up to $5,000 for employers with two or more violations in the preceding five years.

Columbus: a "reasonable" range, enforced from January 1, 2027

Columbus City Council passed Ordinance 2898-2025 on November 3, 2025, and the mayor signed it the next day. It rewrote chapter 2335 so that employers "shall provide a reasonable salary range or scale for potential employment in employment postings." Section 3 says that requirement "shall not be enforced until January 1, 2027."

Columbus is the only Ohio city that tells employers what "reasonable" means. The chapter lists six factors: the flexibility of the employer's budget, the anticipated range of applicants' experience, potential variation in the role's responsibilities, opportunities for growth, "the cost of living for the various locations in which an applicant may work," and market research on comparable positions. A wide range is not automatically unreasonable if those factors explain it, which is useful for remote roles. Postings "replicated and published without an employer's consent" are excluded, as are internal transfers, promotions and collectively bargained positions. Applicants complain to the Community Relations Commission, and an employer found in violation may face civil penalties under section 2331.05(B) of the city code.

Cincinnati and Toledo: the pay scale after a conditional offer

Cincinnati's chapter 804 and Toledo's chapter 768 use the same sentence: an employer, "upon reasonable request, shall provide the pay scale for a position" to an applicant who has received a conditional offer. Neither city requires pay in the ad. Cincinnati's ordinance gives the applicant a private lawsuit for compensatory damages, attorney's fees and costs, brought within two years. Both chapters exempt internal transfers and promotions, rehires within five years and collectively bargained positions.

Does Ohio state law block these city rules?

Not on its face. Ohio's 2017 labor preemption statute, R.C. 4113.85, makes nine matters "exclusively the result of an employer's policy" or agreement: hours, when and where employees work, schedule notice, hours fluctuation, reporting-time and on-call pay, predictive scheduling, offering hours to current staff first, and fringe benefits. Pay disclosure and hiring questions are not on the list. The Cleveland and Columbus posting rules were both adopted after it.

Is a statewide Ohio law coming?

No statewide pay transparency or salary history bill became law in the 136th General Assembly (2025–2026), which runs through the end of 2026. You can follow new filings on the Ohio Legislature's legislation search. Until then, the Columbus ordinance's own explanation sums up the situation: it says it will "increase uniformity in policies for employers in Ohio" by matching Cleveland, Cincinnati and Toledo.

What does this mean for staffing agencies and remote roles?

• Agencies are covered. Cleveland and Columbus define "employer" to include job placement, referral and other employment agencies "when such agencies operate on behalf of" a covered employer. Cincinnati and Toledo include employment agencies outright. See pay transparency for staffing agencies.
• Coverage follows the job's location. Each ordinance covers applicants for work performed within the city. A Columbus employer hiring someone to work from Dayton appears to fall outside the Columbus rule, but a remote role open to New York or Washington candidates can fall under those states' laws; see pay transparency for remote jobs.
• Federal law adds no posting rule. The federal contractor pay transparency regulations, including 41 CFR 60-1.35, were removed effective October 26, 2026 by a Department of Labor final rule after Executive Order 14173 revoked Executive Order 11246. The NLRB says most private-sector employees remain protected when they discuss pay.

A checklist for Ohio postings

1. Count employees in the city, not the state: 15 or more in Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati or Toledo triggers that city's rules.
2. Cleveland jobs: post a range or scale now. Columbus jobs: do it before January 1, 2027.
3. Use a real floor and ceiling. Indeed's pay formats include "From" and "Up to" amounts; neither gives the candidate both ends of a range.
4. Write down why the range is reasonable using Columbus's six factors; the same note works in Cleveland.
5. Have the pay scale ready for conditional offers in Cincinnati and Toledo.
6. Drop salary history questions in all four cities, for clients and agency recruiters alike.

Ohio at a glance

More Ohio rules: hiring employees in Ohio, ban the box in Ohio and staffing agency licensing in Ohio. Neighboring Michigan and Pennsylvania have no posting law.