Economy

Colorado forced companies to disclose salaries on job listings — and now some companies won't hire workers from the Centennial State

colorado legislature covid restrictions
Colorado State Representatives Rod Pelton, left, and Kim Ransom, right, talk to each surrounded by protective plastic barriers set up at each desk in the House chambers at the Colorado State Capitol during an emergency legislative session on November 30, 2020 in Denver, Colorado. Helen H. Richardson/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images
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Colorado passed a law that required employers tell prospective employees how much a job pays — and six months later companies are rejecting applicants from the state altogether.

Johnson & Johnson, McKesson, CBRE Group, and Cardinal Health recently posted job listings seeking workers in every US location "except Colorado," The Wall Street Journal's Chip Cutter reported on Thursday.

"Work location is flexible if approved by the Company except that position may not be performed remotely from Colorado," read two Johnson & Johnson job listings for a commercial finance senior manager and a senior manager in operations, according to The Journal.

The job listings do not explain why the work cannot be performed in Colorado. 

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As of January 1, Colorado law mandated employers disclose the hourly or salary compensation or range in all job postings.

Colorado enacted the rule to ensure equal pay for equal work. A 2020 report from the National Women's Law Center found gender wage gaps are narrower in fields that require salary range transparency in job postings.

Women who were full-time, year-round employees made 82.3 cents for every dollar men made in 2019. Research from McKinsey found women negotiated for promotion and raises more often than men, but were less likely to receive them — in part because women who negotiate are 30% more likely to receive feedback stating they are "intimidating," "too aggressive," or "bossy."

Career experts told Insider's Erin McDowell asking the salary range before interviewing can be tricky, as employers are turned off by applicants that appear unprofessional, and online salary crowdsourcing sites like Glassdoor and Payscale can be inaccurate.

Johnson & Johnson, McKesson, CBRE Group, and Cardinal Health were not immediately available for further comment.

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Allana Akhtar was a senior health reporter for Insider, where she covers the emerging wellness industry and general health topics. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Allana wrote extensively about nurses, mask mandates, the vaccine rollout, and disparities in access to health. Her articles include features on nurses needing to re-use PPE in the early days of the pandemic, ones who struggled to get paid time off after getting COVID-19, and those who left bedside care after grueling pandemic working conditions. Allana also spoke to flight attendants and retail workers who faced violence as they enforced mask mandates, and community health workers who said they struggled to receive equitable vaccine access during the initial rollout. Allana now reports on emerging trends within the wellness industry, including the Westernization of indigenous medicine and dangerous wellness trends spread through social media. She also writes about plastic surgery, racial disparities in healthcare, and breaking health news. Allana has won numerous awards for her work, including the Best News Story by the Michigan Press Association in 2015, Best Reporter Covering Nurses in 2019, and the Morris and Lola Wasserstein Award for her contribution to the the University of Michigan's student paper as an Honors student. Before Insider, Allana wrote for USA TODAY, US News & World Report, Money Magazine, Health Magazine, Jalopnik, and more. You can email her at aakhtar@bjinnox.com, call/text her at (646) 376-6058, or follow her on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Secure tips line: Signal # 248 760 0208'We're grossly unprepared': Nurses share their frustration as the coronavirus spreads with little direction from the government or hospitals on how to mitigate it'Sexy nurse' costumes demean one of the most in-demand professions in American life — and they're a bestseller on Amazon right nowFlight attendants describe 'unprecedented' violence as travel returns and passenger aggression soarsG/O Media fired a queer employee of color who wore crop tops, shorts, and heels to work, violating a brand-new dress code that others say they routinely violated without being punishedContractors at controversial startup Rev say they worked long hours for little pay, feared they could lose their job at any time, and had to transcribe interviews with sexual-abuse survivors without warning