https://www.forbes.com/sites/jenamcgregor/2022/06/09/microsoft-announces-it-will-include-pay-ranges-in-all-us-job-postings-experts-predict-it-will-be-the-first-of-many/

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Edit Story
Leadership Strategy
Editors' Pick

Microsoft Announces It Will Include Pay Ranges In All U.S. Job
Postings. Experts Predict It Will Be The First Of Many.

Jena McGregor
Forbes Staff
I am in charge of Forbes' leadership, careers, and workplace
coverage.
Jun 9, 2022,12:56pm EDT|
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An employee waits to greet customers at a Microsoft Corp. store in
Bellevue, Washington, U.S., on Thursday, Jan. 26, 2017. Photographer:
David Ryder/Bloomberg

(c) 2017 Bloomberg Finance LP

Microsoft said Wednesday it will include pay ranges in all of its
U.S. job listings, a move that likely foreshadows a range of big
corporations following suit, experts say, as competition for talent
remains high.

In a blog post, Microsoft said it would disclose salary ranges in all
internal and external U.S. job postings no later than January 2023.
That date is when Washington state, where Microsoft's headquarters
are located, will start requiring employers with at least 15
employees to disclose salary ranges for each position. The law covers
Washington state; Microsoft's initiative will apply "across the
U.S.," it said.

Microsoft is considered to be a bellwether among large companies for
employment practices, and is likely to be emulated by other big
employers. "I know several large multinationals that are on the brink
of externally disclosing" they will do the same, says Christine
Hendrickson, a former partner at Seyfarth Shaw who is now the vice
president of strategic initiatives at Syndio, which conducts pay
analyses for large corporations. "Some have disclosed this
information internally, but Microsoft is at the vanguard of including
this information in all external job postings."

Changes may not ripple through big companies immediately. Many
employers don't relish sharing pay data that's long been kept secret.
Laws in some other jurisdictions that require disclosure of pay
ranges--there are now six, including New York City--don't go into
effect for months, and employers have already pushed to postpone the
practice there.

But as employee expectations about pay transparency rise, and the
number of places where laws have been passed grow--Colorado has a law,
and both California and New York state have similar bills
pending--more employers may embrace the practice rather than fight it.
"It's going to force others off the sidelines," Hendrickson says.
"When companies start acting, others are soon to follow. There will
be more pressure to also be transparent in order to win talent."

Pay experts have long predicted companies would not want to mess with
different practices in different states. Doing so not only
complicates hiring practices for human resources departments, it
means unequal access to information for employees who live in states
where laws require it and those who don't.

As a result, compensation experts say those employers that have done
the work of auditing their pay scales and making sure people are paid
equally are likely to be the first to adopt the practice on a
nationwide basis, while those who haven't may be slower.

In its post, Microsoft referenced its decision, several years ago, to
ban asking job applicants about their salary histories. Such
practices, which many companies adopted, also followed laws in
several states and cities that, if not adopted nationally, would have
created a patchwork of policies and administrative headaches.

Being among the first could be an advantage for Microsoft. A range of
smaller employers, such as Textio, already say they disclose pay
ranges in all job listings, but Hendrickson couldn't think of other
global multinationals of Microsoft's size that have made similar
announcements. "There's a premium to going first," she says. "They
win trust in a really competitive job market."

Microsoft's blog post also said it was removing noncompete clauses
from its U.S. employee agreements, and will not enforce existing
clauses in the U.S., with the exception of executives in senior
leadership roles, as well making some changes to its separation
agreements. The software maker also said it would bring on an outside
firm to do a civil rights audit of its workforce policies and
practices.

Send me a secure tip. 
 
Jena McGregor

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