Your pay rights in Minnesota
Salary Ranges Required in Job Postings (Minn. Stat. § 181.173 (job postings); Minn. Stat. § 363A.08, subd. 8 (pay history))
Job posting rules in effect since January 1, 2025
Minnesota employers with 30 or more employees in the state must list the starting pay range (or fixed pay) and a general description of all benefits and other pay in every job posting. Employers may not ask about your pay history.
Who is covered
The posting rule applies to employers with 30 or more employees at one or more sites in Minnesota, including public employers and nonprofits. It covers any ad for a specific open job that lists qualifications, online or printed, whether posted by the employer or through a third party. The pay history ban applies to employers, employment agencies, and unions, with no size limit.
What a job posting must show
- The starting salary range: the lowest and highest yearly salary or hourly pay, based on the employer's good-faith estimate when it posts
- If there is no range, a fixed pay rate. Open-ended ranges are not allowed.
- A general description of all benefits and other pay, including any health or retirement benefits
Pay history
Employers, employment agencies and unions may not ask about, consider, or seek from any source your past or current pay to set your pay. You may choose to share it, without being asked, to negotiate higher pay.
What you can do
- For pay history violations, you can file a charge with the Minnesota Department of Human Rights or sue in court within one year
- For posting violations, you can report the employer to the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (651-284-5075). The Attorney General can also enforce this chapter.
Where to report a posting without pay
The posting law itself sets no fines or damages. Pay history violations are illegal discrimination under the Minnesota Human Rights Act, which has its own remedies.
Sources
- Minn. Stat. § 181.173: Salary ranges required in job postings
- Minnesota Session Laws 2024, ch. 110 (art. 7, sec. 2, effective Jan. 1, 2025)
- Minn. Stat. § 181.1721: Attorney General enforcement
- Minn. Stat. § 177.27: Commissioner compliance orders and penalties
- Minn. Stat. § 181.171: Civil action
- Minn. Stat. § 363A.08: Unfair discriminatory practices (subd. 8, pay history)
- Minn. Stat. § 363A.28: Filing deadline
- Minnesota Session Laws 2023, ch. 52 (pay history ban effective Jan. 1, 2024)
- DLI: Contact Labor Standards
How the posting law is enforced is unclear. § 181.173 has no penalty, no right to sue, and no anti-retaliation clause, and it isn't on the lists of laws the Labor Commissioner can issue compliance orders for or that people can sue under. § 181.1721 does refer generally to the Department and the Attorney General enforcing chapter 181. The statute doesn't say how remote jobs or out-of-state employees are handled. The pay history ban took effect Jan. 1, 2024; for jobs under a union contract, it starts when a contract taking effect after that date is implemented. No 2025 or 2026 session law amended § 181.173 or the pay history ban (§ 363A.08, subd. 8) as of the last check.