AUGUSTA - Rep. Amy Roeder, D-Bangor, introduced legislation Tuesday to require that pay ranges be included in job postings.
LD 936 would require an employer with 10 or more employees to include the pay range that will be offered to a successful applicant for an open position. For employers with fewer than 10 employees, they must disclose, on request, the salary range that will be offered to a successful applicant.
"This bill will help both employers and job applicants," said Roeder. "By sharing pay ranges, employers are able to set expectations and better attract a pool of applicants that is suitable for the position for which they are advertising. Prospective employees will have the information up front that they need before making the lengthy decision to apply while current employees will have the transparency of knowing how others in their position are compensated, thus contributing to a conversation of pay parity in our workplaces."
"The gender pay gap has actually widened in Maine since 2016, with an almost $10,000 per year difference between men and women's median salaries for full-time, year-round work," said Destie Hohman Sprague, executive director of the Maine Womens Lobby. "Salary transparency is one of the least burdensome and most impactful ways we can turn this tide, and it has been shown to work in other states."
The Legislature's Labor and Housing Committee will hold a work session on the bill in the coming weeks.
Roeder is serving her second term in the Maine House of Representatives and is House chair of the Labor and Housing Committee. She represents House District 23, which includes a portion of Bangor.