Connecticut Pay Transparency Law: Wage Ranges and Pay History

Connecticut’s pay transparency law requires every employer in the state to share a wage range with job applicants and current employees, bans questions about salary history, and prohibits punishing workers who discuss pay. It is codified at Connecticut General Statutes § 31-40z, and workers who are shortchanged can file with the state Department of Labor or sue in court.¹

Who Has to Follow the Law

Any employer operating in Connecticut with at least one paid employee is covered. That includes private companies of every size, LLCs, partnerships, nonprofits, and state and local government agencies.¹ A five-person startup has the same obligations as a large company headquartered in Hartford.

An employee under the statute is anyone employed or permitted to work by an employer. The law protects outside applicants looking at new jobs and current workers considering internal moves or simply curious about their position’s pay range.¹ Remote workers reporting to a Connecticut-based employer are covered too, because the statute keys off the employer’s presence in the state rather than where the worker sits.

When You Have the Right to a Wage Range

The statute defines a wage range as the pay an employer expects to rely on when setting compensation for a position. That can be a formal pay scale, a previously determined range, the actual range paid to employees in comparable roles, or the budgeted amount for the opening.¹ Employers have flexibility in how they frame the number. They cannot refuse to give you one.

If You Are a Job Applicant

An employer must give you the wage range no later than the time a compensation offer is made. If you ask for the range earlier in the process, the employer must share it then instead.¹ You can ask during a first interview and the company is legally required to answer. There is no stage of hiring where an employer can legitimately tell you compensation will be discussed later.

If You Already Work There

Current employees have the right to receive the wage range for their position at three points: when first hired, when moving to a different position within the company, and the first time they ask for it.¹ That third trigger is the broadest. Any employee can request the range for their current role at any time, with no promotion or transfer required. The employer must comply.

What Employers Cannot Ask About Your Pay History

Employers cannot ask about a prospective employee’s wage or salary history, and they cannot direct a third party to ask on their behalf. The only exception is when the applicant voluntarily shares the information without being prompted.¹ The point is to stop old pay from anchoring new pay, which is one of the main ways wage gaps carry forward from job to job.

Employers can still ask about the structure of your current compensation, such as whether you receive stock options or a signing bonus, as long as they do not ask about the dollar value.¹ “Do you receive a bonus?” is allowed. “How much is your bonus?” is not.

Your Right to Discuss Pay Without Retaliation

Connecticut law prohibits employers from punishing workers who talk about pay. Under § 31-40z(b), an employer cannot:

Ban employees from sharing how much they earn or discussing a coworker’s voluntarily disclosed pay.
Forbid employees from asking coworkers what they make.
Require workers to sign agreements waiving their right to discuss or inquire about pay.
Fire, discipline, or otherwise retaliate against an employee for discussing wages or asking about a coworker’s pay.

These protections overlap with the federal National Labor Relations Act, which also treats wage discussions among coworkers as protected activity.² The practical result is that you may have both a state and a federal cause of action if an employer retaliates over a pay conversation.

Equal Pay for Comparable Work

Connecticut’s equal pay statute, § 31-75, uses a “comparable work” standard rather than the narrower federal “equal work” standard.³ Federal law generally requires that a man and a woman hold the same job before a pay gap becomes actionable. Connecticut lets you compare jobs that require a similar composite of skill, effort, and responsibility performed under similar conditions, even if the titles and day-to-day tasks differ.⁴

An employer facing an equal pay claim can defend the difference only by showing it comes from seniority, merit, a production-based measurement system, or another legitimate business factor unrelated to sex. Even then, the defense fails if the employee can point to an alternative practice that would serve the same business purpose without creating the pay gap.⁴

How to Enforce the Law If Your Employer Violates It

If an employer refuses to give you a wage range, asks about your salary history, or retaliates against you for talking about pay, you have two paths. You can file an administrative complaint with the Connecticut Department of Labor, bring a private lawsuit, or do both.

Filing With the Department of Labor

Anyone alleging a violation can file a complaint with the Labor Commissioner. The DOL’s Wage and Workplace Standards Division handles these cases. The department cannot recover damages for you individually, but it can issue a civil penalty against the employer if a violation is confirmed.⁵

For a transparency violation, use the Workplace Standards Complaint Form rather than the Statement of Claim for Wages, which covers unpaid wages.⁶ Before filing, gather the date you requested a wage range, how you asked, the name and title of the person who refused or ignored you, and any supporting emails or notes. Organized documentation moves the investigation faster.

Suing in Court

Any employee or applicant can bring a civil action for a violation of § 31-40z. A court may award compensatory damages, attorney’s fees and costs, punitive damages, and any other legal or equitable relief it considers appropriate.¹ The punitive damages piece matters, because many employment statutes cap recovery at actual losses.

The statute of limitations is two years from the date of the violation.¹ The clock starts the day the employer failed to disclose a wage range, retaliated against you, or asked a prohibited salary history question. Two years sounds generous, but factor in the time to realize a violation occurred, find a lawyer, and prepare a case. Document what happened as soon as you suspect a problem.

Federal Protections That May Also Apply

The National Labor Relations Act protects employees who discuss wages with coworkers as “protected concerted activity,” and employer rules restricting these conversations are presumptively unlawful.² If your employer is a federal contractor, Executive Order 13665 and the OFCCP’s implementing regulations separately prohibit pay secrecy policies and retaliation against workers who discuss compensation.⁷

The EEOC also treats inquiries and discussions about pay as protected opposition activity when they are reasonably connected to suspected pay discrimination.⁸ If you ask about pay because you suspect discrimination and your employer fires you for it, you may have a Connecticut retaliation claim and a federal retaliation claim at the same time.

1
Justia. Connecticut Code 31-40z – Penalizing Employees for Discussion or Disclosure of Wage Information Prohibited. Enforcement
2
U.S. Department of Labor. What Are My Employees’ Rights Under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA)?
3
Connecticut General Assembly. Public Act 21-30 – An Act Concerning the Disclosure of Salary Range for a Vacant Position
4
FindLaw. Connecticut General Statutes 31-75
5
Connecticut Department of Labor. Questions and Answers Regarding Public Act 21-30
6
Connecticut Department of Labor. Wage and Workplace Standards Complaint Forms Instructions
7
Federal Register. Government Contractors, Prohibitions Against Pay Secrecy Policies and Actions
8
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Enforcement Guidance on Retaliation and Related Issues