A Vermont law passed last year requires most employers to provide a “good faith” pay range in job postings. The law took effect on July 1, 2025 and applies to businesses with five or more employees.

What’s Required. According to guidance published by the Vermont Attorney General’s Office, the range means the “minimum and maximum annual salary or hourly wage that the employer, acting in good faith, expects to pay for the advertised job at the time it creates the ad.

Important provisions and exceptions include:

– Employers with 4 employees or less are exempt.

– Oral advertisements, including on radio, TV, or other electronic media, are exempt.

– General notices of employment that are not job specific are exempt.

– Postings for work outside of Vermont are exempt.

– Postings for jobs paid on commission must state that fact but do not need to include the range or actual compensation.

– Postings for tipped jobs must disclose that fact and a good faith range of the base, non-tip wages paid by the employer.

The law also protects employees and applicants who exercise their rights.

All requirements will be enforced by the Attorney General’s Office’s Civil Rights Unit.

Some Safe Harbor. While the Vermont law’s business size exemption is lower than some other states (e.g., MA: 25 or more employees), the law does include language that will help protect small employers who are often in the position of needing to hire applicants who need additional training or are otherwise not perfect immediate fits for the role.

Employers and applicants are explicitly permitted to deviate from the advertised range “based on circumstances outside the employer’s control, such as an applicant’s qualifications or labor market factors.”

Read the Attorney General’s guidance here: Vermont Attorney General Act 155 Guidance (Final).pdf

Read the law in its entirety here: ACT 155 As Enacted.pdf