City of Cleveland to Enact New Pay Transparency Requirement

Starting October 27, 2025 the city of Cleveland, OH will require private employers that employ at least 15 people within the city, as well as any employment agency acting on behalf of the employer, to provide salary ranges on all job announcements that are being advertised as well as “banning the box” on asking for salary history. While the new ordinance prohibits explicitly asking applicants for their salary history, using salary history is permitted under certain conditions.

Passed on April 30, 2025, by the City Council, Ordinance 104-2025 provides the following requirements:

• Covered employers cannot:
  • Inquire about salary history
  • Screen an applicant based on prior compensation including asking about minimum/maximum requirements
  • Rely solely on salary history when making an offer
  • Refuse to hire or retaliate when an applicant refuses to share salary history
• Covered employers can:
  • Rely on salary history already authorized by another superseding law
  • Use salary history for transfers or internal promotions
  • Use voluntary/unprompted disclosure of salary history by an applicant
  • Obtain salary history in connection with a background check
  • Access employment history when an employee is rehired
  • Use employment history for jobs that are subject to collective bargaining
• Covered employers must:
  • Provide the salary range or scale in any external or internal notification, advertisement, or job posting. This includes any postings done for foreign nationals.

The law applies to positions that will be performed in Cleveland’s geographic boundaries, and “whose application, in whole or in part, will be solicited, received, processed, or considered in the City of Cleveland, regardless of whether the person is interviewed.”

The Fair Employment and Wage Board department within the city of Cleveland will enforce the ordinance and will provide a copy of any complaint to the employer. Once the complaint is received, the employer will have 90 days to rectify the violations. Civil penalties of up to $5,000 are possible if an employer refuses to comply or has multiple violations.

Pay Transparency continues to evolve and spread across communities and states.

Contact the People Insights team at Berkshire to help ensure your compensation system is designed to meet these and other regulations.