As more states roll out pay transparency laws, compensation professionals are grappling with a deceptively simple question: How much of the salary range should we post?

While the letter of the law in places like California, Colorado, and New York focuses on “what you reasonably expect to pay,” the spirit of these regulations is about leveling the playing field for candidates. But that creates tension between compliance, candidate experience, internal equity, and business strategy.

In a recent CompTool-hosted roundtable, comp leaders joined a candid conversation about how organizations are approaching this complex decision—and why there may not be a one-size-fits-all solution. The recording of the talk can be found below, along with an accompanying summary of the discussion.

Managing Expectations and Avoiding Misalignment

Scott Boynton, Head of Total Rewards at Gentiva, raised one of the most critical points early in the discussion: Posting the full range can mislead candidates.

“If we aren’t typically going to hire in the fourth quartile of the range, candidates who expect that pay will walk away disappointed—and that impacts the entire candidate experience.”

This issue is not hypothetical. A 2023 ResumeBuilder survey found that 23% of candidates said they would “definitely” demand the top of the range and another 45% said they “probably would.” That’s two-thirds of candidates entering the process with potentially misaligned expectations.

The result? Recruiters may face friction, longer negotiation cycles, or worse—disengaged hires who feel shortchanged before day one.

Real-world answers to address “How much of the salary range should we post?”

Several panelists shared their company’s practical strategies. Kristen Palmer, whose employer operates in Oregon and soon Washington, highlighted how state laws are shaping the timeline and approach:

“We’re starting to post for all roles by January 1. We’ve put specific guidelines around where we hire within a range, based on comp ratio targets and equity laws.”

Palmer’s comments underscore a trend: more companies are designing structured pay placement frameworks to ensure consistency between posted ranges and actual offers.

Megan added a compelling perspective around internal equity:

“If our employees are under market, that’s a separate problem. We shouldn’t post a lower range just to avoid highlighting those gaps—we should fix the internal issue.”

This shows a growing realization: external transparency is forcing internal accountability. If your pay architecture isn’t ready for the public eye, that’s not a PR issue—it’s a compensation strategy issue.

Ranges Were Never Built for This

Paul Reiman, founder of Novo Insights, captured one of the biggest challenges for compensation teams:

“Many ranges weren’t built for posting. They were built to reflect market fit over time, with expectations that employees would grow through the range.”

In other words, posting salary ranges has exposed the gap between how ranges were designed and how they’re now being used. Companies are responding by either:

• Posting a subset of the range—typically from the minimum to midpoint or slightly above.
• Creating parallel “hiring ranges” that reflect what they realistically expect to pay.
• Adjusting ranges altogether to align with transparency standards and business needs.

What About Compliance?

California’s law requires employers to post a pay range representing “what they reasonably expect to pay.” But what if your posted range doesn’t match what you actually offer?

As Boynton pointed out, this could pose a future legal risk:

“What if an employee says, ‘If I’d known you’d pay $100K, I would have asked for more’? Could they argue bad faith or misrepresentation?”

Indeed, enforcement is increasing. California’s Labor Commissioner began issuing fines in 2024, and legal experts have warned that discrepancies between posted and actual pay could be scrutinized in audits.

One simple risk mitigation tactic? Document how your posted ranges are derived—whether it’s from historical hiring data, compensation philosophy, or internal benchmarks.

The Internal Fallout: Employees Are Watching Too

There’s another stakeholder group compensation leaders can’t ignore: current employees.

“If we post too much of the range, current employees may feel underpaid,” said Reiman. “That can cause more backlash than a fine from the government.”

This tension has led some companies to post lower-end ranges publicly while addressing internal alignment privately. Others are proactively educating employees about how pay ranges work, what the midpoint means, and how progression is earned over time.

The bottom line: Internal transparency is fast becoming a necessary complement to external transparency.

Equity: Will Transparency Move the Needle?

One of the key reasons we have to consider the question: “How much of the salary range should we post?” One of the original promises of pay transparency laws was pay equity, especially across gender and race. But the panel expressed healthy skepticism.

“We’re mistaking visibility for equity,” said one speaker. “Posting a range won’t fix promotion bias or raise disparities.”

That aligns with findings from SHRM and HBR: Unconscious bias in performance reviews, promotion decisions, and raise allocations plays a bigger role in long-term inequity than starting salary alone. While transparency helps at the offer stage, deeper systemic changes are still needed to close the gap.

Still, panelists agreed that transparency can have more impact on racial pay equity, where the uncontrolled pay gap is wider and less explained by factors like tenure or experience.

So… How Much of the Range Should We Post?

The answer: It depends on your strategy, your risk tolerance, and your organizational maturity. While the solution will vary for each Organization, a recent survey by CompTool found that fewer than 10% of companies that moved towards pay transparency felt the move created a negative outcome for the business or its employees.

But here are five emerging best practices to consider:

1. Post what you plan to pay – Mid-to-midplus ranges are a sweet spot for most.
2. Anchor to your comp philosophy – If you hire at an 85% comp ratio, build your posting strategy around that.
3. Use subsets wisely – Avoid posting unrealistically low ranges just to control optics.
4. Prepare for internal questions – Be ready to explain your logic to both candidates and employees.
5. Rebuild your ranges if needed – If they don’t reflect real hiring practices, it’s time for a reset.