Pennsylvania pay transparency law: no statute yet, HB 630 in the Senate, and the rules that apply now

Pennsylvania has no statewide pay transparency law for private employers, as of October 2026. The bill that would create one, House Bill 630, passed the House by a single vote, 102 to 101, on May 5, 2025, and has sat in the Senate Labor and Industry Committee since May 16, 2025, according to the General Assembly's bill record. Two rules already apply: Commonwealth agency postings must show the pay scale and range under Executive Order 2018-03, and every employer must tell new hires their rate of pay under the Wage Payment and Collection Law. Philadelphia bans salary history questions but does not require ranges.

Does Pennsylvania require salary ranges in job postings?

Not for private employers. No Pennsylvania statute requires a range in a job ad, on request or after an interview. The General Assembly's records for the 2025–2026 session show four bills that would change that, none enacted. The one that has moved is HB 630.

What would House Bill 630 require?

House Bill 630, with Representative Melissa Shusterman as prime sponsor, amends Pennsylvania's 1959 Equal Pay Law. In the printer's number 767 text the House passed, an employer "shall include the expected compensation or the range of expected compensation: (1) for any position the employer publicly advertises as a job opening; and (2) to a prospective employe applying for employment upon reasonable request." The act would take effect one year after enactment.

Three practical points follow from that wording if it becomes law unchanged:

• A single figure would be allowed. "Expected compensation or the range" lets an employer post one rate.
• Public ads, plus requests. The posting duty covers positions the employer "publicly advertises"; any applicant could also ask for the figure.
• No benefits line. Unlike House Bill 2700 below, the passed text asks for compensation only.

Which other Pennsylvania pay transparency bills are pending?

A bill has to pass both chambers in identical form and be signed within the same two-year session. If HB 630 does not clear the Senate before the 2025–2026 session ends, it would have to be introduced again.

What already applies: state agency postings

Pennsylvania's own job ads already work the way HB 630 would make private ads work. Executive Order 2018-03, "Equal Pay for Employees of the Commonwealth," signed by Governor Tom Wolf on June 6, 2018, says: "All Commonwealth position postings shall clearly disclose a job position's pay scale and pay range." The same order bars agencies under the Governor's jurisdiction from asking about an applicant's current or past compensation at any stage of hiring. The order is still posted on pa.gov with the Office of Administration's policies. It binds state agencies, not private employers.

What already applies: the pay notice at hire

Every Pennsylvania employer already has to disclose pay, just later than a posting law would require. Section 4 of the Wage Payment and Collection Law (Act 329 of 1961) makes it "the duty of every employer to notify his employes at the time of hiring of the time and place of payment and the rate of pay and the amount of any fringe benefits or wage supplements," and of any change before it happens. An employer may instead post those facts. In practice the offer letter usually does this job.

Does Philadelphia or Pittsburgh require pay ranges?

No. Philadelphia's Wage Equity Ordinance makes it illegal for employers, employment agencies or their agents to ask applicants about current or prior salary, and it reaches recruiters filling Philadelphia jobs, but it does not require a range in the ad. Pittsburgh's wage equity rule, Code § 181.13, was added to the personnel article of the city code in January 2017 and governs the city's own hiring. Both are covered on our Pennsylvania salary history page. A recruiter filling a Philadelphia job has to avoid the pay history question; giving the range early is the easiest way to steer the call to expectations instead.

Which neighboring states' laws reach a Pennsylvania posting?

Pennsylvania is surrounded by posting states, and many Pennsylvania jobs are filled by people who live across the line:

• New Jersey. The state labor department says the law covers employers with 10 or more employees over 20 calendar weeks that do business, employ people "or take applications for employment within New Jersey" (NJDOL). A Philadelphia employer taking applications from South Jersey should assume coverage; see the New Jersey guide.
• New York. Covers jobs performed at least partly in New York and jobs that report to a New York supervisor or office (Labor Law § 194-b).
• Maryland and Delaware. Maryland requires a range from every employer; Delaware's law starts September 26, 2027. See pay transparency laws by state.
• Ohio cities. Cleveland requires ranges for jobs in the city, and Columbus's rule is enforced from January 1, 2027; see the Ohio guide.

For fully remote roles, the coverage tests are compared on pay transparency for remote jobs.

Do federal rules require pay ranges?

No. The only federal rule labeled "pay transparency" protected federal contractor employees who discussed pay; it never required ranges. It rested on Executive Order 11246, revoked by Executive Order 14173 on January 21, 2025, and the Department of Labor's final rule removed its regulations, including 41 CFR 60-1.35, effective October 26, 2026. The NLRB says the National Labor Relations Act still protects most private-sector employees who discuss wages. The federal Equal Pay Act covers virtually all employers.

What should Pennsylvania recruiters do now?

1. Post ranges for roles open to New Jersey, New York or Maryland applicants, which is common for Philadelphia-area and remote roles.
2. Set ranges you would defend from a budget, band or current pay; see how to set salary ranges for job postings.
3. Keep the Wage Payment and Collection Law notice in every offer letter: rate, pay schedule and fringe benefits.
4. For Philadelphia jobs, never ask pay history, and train agency recruiters to do the same.
5. Watch the Senate Labor and Industry Committee. If HB 630 moves, you would have a year from enactment to add pay to every public ad.

Pennsylvania at a glance

More Pennsylvania rules: hiring employees in Pennsylvania, ban the box in Pennsylvania and staffing agency licensing in Pennsylvania.