Maryland Governor Wes Moore signed HB 649, the Maryland Wage Range Transparency Act, in May 2023. The law took effect October 1, 2024, requiring Maryland employers with 15 or more employees to include wage range information in all job postings. Maryland joins a growing cluster of Mid-Atlantic states with active pay transparency requirements.
Who does HB 649 apply to?
- Employers with 15 or more employees in Maryland
- Positions performed in Maryland or that could be performed remotely by a Maryland resident
- Applies to both traditional job postings and electronic platforms
What must job postings include?
- The wage range — minimum and maximum hourly rate or salary that the employer in good faith anticipates paying
- A general description of benefits and other compensation offered with the role (health insurance, retirement, bonuses, etc.)
Relationship to DC and Virginia requirements
Employers operating in the DC Metro area should be aware that Maryland's requirements layer on top of:
- Washington DC: DC has its own salary history prohibition and transparency requirements
- Virginia: Virginia does not have a statewide pay transparency law but prohibits employers from using salary history (for state contractors)
Multi-state employers in the DMV region should apply Maryland's requirements as a baseline for all postings in the region.
Employer checklist
- ✓ Include wage range (min and max) in all Maryland-applicable job postings
- ✓ Include general description of benefits and other compensation
- ✓ Apply to remote roles accessible to Maryland residents
- ✓ Note the October 1, 2024 effective date — all postings after this date must comply
How RoleComply helps
RoleComply tracks Maryland HB 649 and checks every posting for wage range and benefits inclusion. For DMV-area employers operating across Maryland, DC, and Virginia, RoleComply applies the relevant requirement per posting — no manual jurisdiction mapping required.
What Maryland employers must do
The HB 649 requires employers to include salary ranges in job postings in Maryland. The Maryland Department of Labor is the authoritative source for compliance guidance and enforcement updates. Employers with any hiring activity in Maryland should treat pay range disclosure as non-negotiable.
Audit every active posting. Review all roles advertised in Maryland — on your own careers page, LinkedIn, Indeed, Glassdoor, and through any staffing agencies. Every posting needs a salary range. Check that your range is genuine — regulators and candidates alike can identify placeholder-wide ranges that bear no connection to actual pay.
Establish pay bands. A range on a job posting is only defensible if it connects to a documented compensation structure. Build pay bands for each role or level, benchmark against market data, and document the factors that explain variation within each band (experience, skills, location). This documentation protects you in enforcement situations and in employee conversations.
Train your recruiting team. Front-line recruiters need to understand what is required and what is prohibited. "Competitive salary", "DOE", salary history questions, and ranges that do not match the actual hiring budget are the most common violations — and all of them are preventable with basic training and updated posting templates.
Penalties and enforcement
Enforcement of US pay transparency laws has accelerated since 2023. New York City has issued fines ranging from $15,000 to over $250,000 for single violations. California's Civil Rights Department investigates complaints and requires remediation. The pattern is consistent across jurisdictions: initial enforcement targets large employers with visible non-compliance, then expands to mid-market companies as regulators build capacity. See our US state law roundup for current requirements across all states, or read our salary range best practices guide to learn how to write ranges that satisfy multiple state requirements simultaneously.
