Disclosing salaries to applicants: Required for some employers, while others choose it.

The Great Resignation remains in full swing, putting pressure on employers to hire new workers and forcing them to revisit their compensation policies.

On average, nearly four million Americans quit their jobs each month last year, an unprecedented wave of turnover that is being felt in every industry. Alarmingly, 38% of employees polled recently by Korn Ferry said they would be willing to quit their jobs even if they didn't have a new job lined up.

That kind of staffing churn requires innovative approaches to attracting applicants. Many employers are jumping aboard one of 2022's hot HR trends--publicly stating at the very outset of the hiring process exactly how much the job will pay.

Closing the wage gap

In some locales, starting salary disclosure is required by law as a means to correct pay inequality.

Women and members of other protected groups have complained for decades that they're caught in a cycle of lower pay because of previous wage discrimination. It has long been customary for employers to set starting pay on the basis of a candidate's current or most recent compensation.

Employee advocates say that pay strategy perpetuates low-wage status for some applicants. (There's no practical way for people to break that pattern, short of lying about one's salary history.)

Legislating transparency

Lawmakers are trying to fix the problem by forcing more transparency.

Ten jurisdictions (and counting) force employers to provide wage information to applicants or current staff, either upon request or at a certain part in the hiring process (see box above). Two recent examples:

* On Jan. 1, Colorado employers had to begin including pay ranges and benefits in job listings.

* Starting in April, New York City employers will have to post salary ranges for all job openings, promotions and transfers.

States and cities with wage disclosure laws California Rhode Island Colorado Washington Connecticut New York City Maryland Cincinnati...