Can You Say "Competitive Salary" in a Job Posting?

Generally no. Posting-required laws ask for an actual figure or a good-faith range, and "DOE," "negotiable," and "commensurate with experience" are treated the same way as "competitive salary" — as no disclosure at all. You can still say pay depends on experience; the safer pattern is to pair that phrase with real numbers, e.g., "$62,000–$78,000 depending on experience."

Often, yes. Colorado's guidance covers remote roles that can be performed anywhere, New York's covers roles performed in or reporting to New York, and Washington's Labor & Industries policy covers postings recruiting Washington-based workers. Colorado and Washington guidance both say a posting cannot escape coverage by stating that applicants from that state won't be considered. An employer with no office in a state can still be covered if it advertises to workers there, which is why many national employers now include a range in every remote posting rather than tracking carve-outs.

That carries its own risk. These laws generally use a good-faith standard — the range you genuinely expect to pay at the time of posting. Colorado guidance indicates the range should reflect what the employer genuinely believes it might pay, and flags open-ended figures like "$30,000 and up" as non-compliant. California went further: SB 642, effective January 1, 2026, codified the pay scale as a good-faith estimate of what the employer reasonably expects to pay for the position upon hire — a change law-firm alerts describe as a response to artificially wide ranges. A defensible range is one you could explain to a regulator with your comp data.

It depends on the state. Washington allows a private civil action, with statutory damages of $100 to $5,000 per violation plus attorneys' fees for a prevailing applicant — though its 2025 amendment added a five-business-day cure opportunity through July 27, 2027. In California, an aggrieved person can file a complaint with the Labor Commissioner within one year, and the statute also allows a civil action for injunctive and other court-ordered relief. In New York, the route under the posting law is a complaint to the Department of Labor. Confirm the current remedy landscape with counsel, as these provisions have been amended recently.

It varies. Washington requires a general description of all benefits and other compensation alongside the wage scale or salary range, and Colorado and Illinois require benefits information with the compensation disclosure. California is narrower: the Labor Commissioner's FAQs say bonuses, tips, and benefits beyond the base salary or hourly range are not required in the posting — but if a position is paid by commission or piece rate, that rate must be included. Confirm with counsel how variable pay should appear in your postings state by state.

Frequently. New York's law expressly covers advertised promotion and transfer opportunities, and Colorado requires employers to notify current employees of job opportunities and disclose compensation in internal as well as external postings. If your internal job board says "competitive salary" for a promotion posting, it can raise the same issues as a public ad in covered states.