House Labor and Commerce Committee members heard testimony on House Bill 156 on pay transparency during a committee meeting that began in the early morning. Sponsor Representative Genevieve Mina said the bill would require employers to include salary ranges in job postings, prohibit asking job applicants about prior salary, and protect employees who discuss compensation from retaliation.

Mina, who said, “I represent House District 19, the Anchorage neighborhoods of Airport Heights, Mountain View and Russian Jack,” told the committee HB156 seeks to “standardize fair, transparent hiring practices” and to bring Alaska “in line with growing national standards by promoting pay transparency and ensuring fair compensation practices in the workplace.” She said the bill would give job seekers information to make informed decisions and would mandate employers post employees’ rights under the law.

The bill’s core provisions, as described in committee, would (1) require employers to include salary ranges in job postings or set a minimum pay level, (2) prohibit employers from asking applicants about their salary history, (3) protect employees who discuss or disclose compensation from discipline or retaliation, and (4) provide remedies for retaliation including damages, lost wages, and possible reinstatement. Mina said the measure also encourages internal audits and voluntary compliance by employers.

Committee members pressed the sponsor on how the posted salary range would operate in practice. Representative Colom asked whether an employer who posts a range could hire an applicant at pay above or below that range; Mina and staff said employers could pay above the posted range and that the bill is not designed to create a rigid floor-and-ceiling that would bar negotiation. Cochair Fields and other members discussed privacy and workplace tensions that can follow salary disclosure; Mina argued that pay information already circulates informally and that deliberate transparency reduces rumor and can help address wage discrimination.

Representative Sadler asked whether salary history should play any role in hiring decisions; Mina said the bill’s prohibition on salary-history questions is intended to focus hiring on applicants’ qualifications rather than past pay. Members also discussed evidence from other jurisdictions; Fields asked the sponsor to supply data on Iceland’s wage-transparency measures, which a committee member said have been associated with a very small gender pay gap.

The committee did not take immediate action on HB156. Mina asked staff to handle sectional reading and invited testimony, and Mikaela Wilson, staff for Representative Mina, said invited testimony would be scheduled. The committee chair said it would forgo a sectional reading at that moment so staff could focus on bills with many amendments and confirmed invited testimony will be held later.

What’s next: The committee scheduled invited testimony and will take additional testimony and possible amendments at a later hearing.