Pay Range Transparency: New Law Could Help Massachusetts Biopharma Industry

Litigation attorney Andrew Silvia was interviewed by BioSpace about a new salary range transparency law in Massachusetts and how it could attract biopharma professionals to the state. The law, which takes effect July 31, 2025, requires public and private employers with 25 or more employees to disclose pay ranges in job postings, provide a position's pay range to employees offered promotions or transfers, and provide upon request pay ranges for an employee's current position or a position for which they are applying. Mr. Silvia, who represents employers in labor and employment litigation, highlighted several benefits of the legislation: Job candidates can be more selective with their search, employees can negotiate better pay and employers can offer more competitive salaries.

"They can look and see what their competitors are offering to pay for similar roles, and they'll also be able to see whether they're attracting the same number of candidates they previously did or they expect to at the pay range that they list," he explained.

On the flip side, increased transparency could create challenges for companies when employees discover they're at the bottom end of a pay range. Mr. Silvia advised supervisors and HR departments to collaborate on consistent messaging to ensure an effective response.

"Even if there are legitimate reasons an employee's towards the low end of a pay range, that can be a difficult conversation to have with that employee, to explain to them what they lack and others may have," he said. "It will potentially impact that employee's level of job satisfaction or employee morale."

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