Though neither Virginia nor Maine requires the disclosure of benefits information, both states’ laws require employers to disclose compensation information in job postings. Further, they continue the trend of the laws varying in nuanced and significant ways. For example, Maine imposes a ten-employee coverage threshold for purposes of its job posting requirements, and also incorporates recordkeeping and employee-request obligations; Virginia combines its posting requirements with a salary history ban, anti-retaliation protections, and, importantly, a dual-enforcement scheme that includes a private right of action but limits civil penalties to an enforcement action by the attorney general.
Quick Hits
- Virginia and Maine will implement new pay transparency laws in July 2026, joining approximately twenty-five other state and local jurisdictions with similar requirements. Maine joins every other state in New England with such a law; Virginia has become the first Southern state to enact one.
- These laws mandate the disclosure of salary ranges in job postings and include distinct provisions regarding enforcement and employer obligations.
- Virginia’s law has no employer size threshold and includes a private right of action with civil penalties, while Maine’s law applies to employers with ten or more employees and relies solely on state enforcement without explicit penalties or private remedies.
Virginia: HB 636/SB 215—Salary History Ban and Wage Range Disclosure
After some back-and-forth between the governor and the legislature, Virginia’s law was approved on April 22, 2026, and takes effect on July 1, 2026. The law applies broadly to “employers” without a headcount threshold and includes both a salary history ban and pay transparency requirements.
Specifically, employers may not seek a prospective employee’s wage or salary history or rely on it when considering that individual for employment or to set the individual’s pay upon hire. There is a limited exception that permits an employer to rely on an applicant’s voluntarily-disclosed wage or salary history or to seek to confirm the wage or salary history, but only to support a higher offer that does not violate state or federal equal pay laws. The law defines “wage or salary history” as the wage or salary paid to the prospective employee by the current or previous employer.
Additionally, employers must disclose the wage, salary, or wage or salary range in each public and internal posting for each job, promotion, transfer, or other opportunity, and must set the range in good faith. A “wage or salary range” is the minimum and maximum wage or salary for the position, set in good faith by reference to a pay scale, a previously determined range, the actual range for persons holding equivalent positions, or the budgeted amount. Determination of “good faith” includes considering the breadth of the range. The statute does not require a description of benefits or other compensation in postings and prohibits retaliation for not providing salary history or for requesting a wage or salary range.
Virginia adopts a two-track enforcement model. The attorney general may bring a civil action, with civil penalties of up to $1,000 for a first violation and up to $5,000 for subsequent violations, and courts may award other legal and equitable relief. In addition, any aggrieved prospective employee or employee may bring a private action within one year of the violation to recover actual damages and other legal and equitable relief, subject to a correction opportunity for posting failures.
As a prerequisite for the private right of action, there is a cure period. For alleged violations based on failing to disclose pay in a posting or failing to set a range in good faith, a prospective employee may not sue if the employer corrects the posting on the original posting locations within fifteen business days after receiving written notice; a single written notice for a posting suffices for the duration of that posting.
This model differs from the many states that rely exclusively on state agency enforcement, and Virginia thereby joins Washington as a state that provides a private right of action for job posting violations. In Washington, that has prompted a number of class actions against employers. But it could have been worse for employers. The legislature originally sent the governor a bill that would have authorized statutory damages of $1,000 to $10,000, or actual damages, whichever was greater, plus reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs, and permitted suits to be brought individually, jointly, or as a collective action within two years of the prohibited action. The enacted law replaces statutory damages and fee-shifting with the remedy limited to actual damages and other legal or equitable relief, shortens the limitations period to one year, and omits express collective action and attorneys’ fees provisions.
Maine: LD 54—Pay Range Disclosures and Recordkeeping
Maine’s law takes effect on July 29, 2026. Covered employers, for purposes of the new job posting requirements, are those that have ten or more employees (though the statute does not specify whether the threshold is limited to Maine-based employees). These employers must include in each posting a statement listing the prospective range of pay to be offered to a successful applicant—or, for commission-only-based positions, a statement that compensation for the position is based solely on commission.
The law defines a “posting” as any solicitation intended to recruit applicants for a specific available position. A “range of pay” is the range the employer anticipates relying on in setting wages, which may reference a pay scale, a previously determined range, the actual range for equivalent positions, or the budgeted amount for the role. The “range of pay” definition excludes compensation based solely on commission. The law does not require the disclosure of benefit information on job postings.
Beyond postings, the statute requires all employers, upon an employee’s request, to disclose the range of pay the employer offers for the position the employee currently holds. Employers also must maintain a record of each position held by an employee and the employee’s pay history in each position during employment and for three years after termination.
The law does not specify private remedies or penalties and allocates funding for the state Department of Labor to enforce the new law.
Next Steps
Employers recruiting in Maine may want to start preparing a defensible, good-faith “range of pay” that aligns with current incumbent pay, in light of expected employee requests for the pay ranges for current positions. Employers may also want to carefully review the recordkeeping obligations.
Meanwhile, the Virginia law creates a significant risk of litigation. Virginia employers may want to review their existing postings for compliance. The Virginia law, coupled with some regulatory attempts in New Jersey to define the breadth of a good-faith pay range, suggests increasing scrutiny of the sizes of pay ranges. Further, Virginia employers may need to train on salary history inquiries and start building a cure protocol, with a single advertised point of intake for job postings.
Finally, in light of both laws, this may be a good time to perform privileged pay equity analyses, conduct grade and level housekeeping, and monitor internal mobility to prepare for increased disclosure and litigation risks.
Ogletree Deakins’ Multistate Advice and Counseling Practice Group and Pay Equity Practice Group will continue to monitor developments and will provide updates on the Multistate Compliance, Pay Equity, and State Developments blogs as additional information becomes available.
In addition, the Ogletree Deakins Client Portal covers developments in Pay Transparency, including in Virginia and Maine, and in Salary History Bans, including the new Virginia law. Premium and Advanced subscribers have access to detailed information about these new laws. Snapshots and updates are available to all registered client users. For more information on the Client Portal or for a Client Portal Subscription, please reach out to clientportal@ogletree.com.
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