Five states will begin enforcing pay transparency laws in 2025

Pay transparency laws will take effect in five states next year, bringing the total states with legislation to help end salary gaps to 14, according to the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC).

Several other states are considering similar legislation, Paycom reported. Meanwhile, a handful of cities, such as Toledo, OH and Washington D.C., have enacted such laws.

“There is a cultural phenomenon that we are witnessing,” said Da Hae Kim, state policy senior counsel for the NWLC.

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Pay transparency laws have only been in place for a few years, so Kim says it is too soon to tell whether they have helped close the pay gap. However, a Women’s Foundation of Colorado report released earlier this year found the pay gap in the state decreased by seven cents since its law was implemented in 2021. Now women earn 85 cents for every dollar earned by a similarly qualified man, up from 78 cents. That equals about $3,000 annually. The report added that California shrank its pay gap by three cents since its law was enacted in 2023, while Washington narrowed its gap by five cents.