Pay Transparency Makes Benefits Communication More Important
When candidates can see the wage range, the rest of your total rewards story has to do more of the work.
Massachusetts Pay Transparency
Governor Healey signed An Act Relative to Salary Range Transparency on July 31, 2024. Starting October 29, 2025, employers with 25 or more employees must disclose wage ranges in job postings, to applicants, and to current employees upon request. Starting February 1, 2025, employers with 100 or more employees subject to federal filing requirements must submit workforce demographic data reports.
Source: Mass.gov, Pay Transparency in Massachusetts.
What This Means for Construction & Manufacturing
Candidates will compare wage ranges more easily across employers. That makes it more important — not less — for employers to communicate the full value of benefits clearly and consistently.
Prevailing Wage and Fringe Benefits
The Massachusetts Department of Labor Standards issues prevailing wage schedules for construction projects and other public work; workers must receive these hourly wage rates when working on a public project, and schedules vary by region and type of work.
Massachusetts Attorney General guidance states that public works employees must be paid the prevailing wage regardless of whether they are employed by the general contractor, filed sub-bidder, or subcontractor, and that prevailing wage laws apply to both union and non-union employers and employees. Payments to bona fide employee benefit plans for health and welfare, pension, and supplemental unemployment can be included in the prevailing wage rate — but only amounts actually contributed to such plans may be deducted from the total wage rate.
Sources: Mass.gov, Prevailing Wage Program; Mass.gov, Prevailing Wage for Workers (Attorney General guidance). This is general information, not legal advice — prevailing wage compliance should be confirmed with qualified legal/compliance professionals.
Total Rewards Communication
When a candidate can see your wage range, this is the rest of the story you need to tell.
Base pay
Overtime potential
Employer medical contribution
Dental / vision
Disability
Life insurance
Retirement
Paid time off
Training / certifications
Safety programs
Wellness resources
Need help telling the total rewards story?
Request a total rewards communication review.