June 2026 pay transparency laws: key dates at a glance
Use this table to quickly identify new pay transparency legislation and salary transparency laws.
EU Pay Transparency Directive legislative update
June was to be the month when the EU turned up the temperature on employers to provide transparency to candidates and employees, but instead there was a cooling on the initiative — and most countries did not transpose the Directive into local law by the deadline. Four countries (Italy, Lithuania, Malta and Slovakia) met the deadline, with a few more releasing drafts just ahead of the deadline to show that they were ‘working on it’. Malta surprised us all with a very last-minute bill that was effective June 7, 2026.
Things have since gone a little quiet. And with many of the European Parliaments going off on their summer breaks soon, we may have to continue to be patient for a few more months.
We expect legislative activity will start warming up later in the year, with many laws to be passed to become effective in January 2027. The EU Commission continues to make it clear that it expects countries to pass this law, so don’t think that because many missed the deadline that this means it will not happen. It is just delayed. The organizations who were ready on time have the chance to relax for the rest of the year. The rest can take this opportunity to prepare. Remember that Malta released and passed a law on one day which became effective the next!
Bookmark Payscale’s Pay Transparency Legislation Tracker to keep abreast with what is happening in each country.
Canada pay transparency legislative update
New Brunswick in Canada has joined British Columbia, Ontario, and Prince Edward Island in passing a Pay Transparency Act. Like most legislation of this nature, it requires organizations to put salary ranges on internal and external job postings. It also bans salary history inquiries and introduces annual pay transparency reporting, which will be phased in from 2028, starting with public sector organizations.
The transparency part of the Pay Transparency Act has gone immediately into force.
U.S. pay transparency legislative update
No new legislation has been passed in the US, but July is the month that two new laws become effective: Virginia on July 1 and Maine on July29.
Organizations who have prepared will be able to enjoy the sun during the July 4th holiday weekend. Those who haven’t may be sweating!
June 2026: Pay transparency takeaways
Although Europe is currently suffering from a heatwave, the EUPTD has gone a bit cold. Only four countries passed laws by the deadline. That doesn’t mean that they are fully stalled, just delayed. We fully expect the heat to be turned up again once the parliaments are back from their summer breaks.
Pay transparency continues to shine in North America, with New Brunswick passing a new Act this month and the Virginia and Maine laws becoming effective in July.
They say that sunshine is the best disinfectant. So, shine alight on your job architecture and systems to see if they are ready to deal with transparency!
If you need any support with pay transparency compliance or pay equity analysis, Payscale is here to help.
