California and New York could soon change how workers everywhere negotiate salaries

WASHINGTON — Anyone who has ever been on a job hunt knows that it is often difficult to find out what a new position might pay.

That could be about to change. The governors of California and New York, both Democrats, have bills on their desks that would require companies to post pay ranges on job advertisements. Those two states — and their outsized economies and populations — could spur most larger companies to adopt the policy nationwide, advocates and experts say.

All workers could be affected, but evidence suggests that more transparent pay practices are particularly helpful for women and people of color, who are more likely to get low-balled in salary negotiations.