Washington State law (RCW 49.58.110) requires employers to “disclose in each posting for each job opening”:

  1. The wage scale or salary range for the position
  2. A general description of all other compensation to be offered to the hired applicant
  3. A general description of all of the benefits to be offered to the hired applicant

This law—colloquially referred to as the salary disclosure law—defines ‘posting’ as “…any solicitation intended to recruit job applicants for a specific available position, including recruitment done directly by an employer or indirectly through a third party, and includes any postings done electronically, or with a printed hard copy, that includes qualifications for desired applicants.”

UW academic personnel recruitments comply with the law through the following mechanisms:

Wage scale or salary range requirement

Units must include the following salary range template language in all academic personnel job postings:

    • Template language: The base salary range for this position will be [enter salary range] per month, commensurate with experience and qualifications, or as mandated by a U.S. Department of Labor prevailing wage determination. 

This language is required except in cases where the appointee(s) will be solely employed and paid directly by a non-UW entity (i.e., paid direct, PDR). In such cases, units must include the following statement in lieu of the salary range template language:

    • PDR template language: This position is paid directly by [name of outside entity] and receives no UW compensation. Please refer to [name of outside entity] for information about compensation for this position.

General description of ‘other compensation’ requirement

If other compensation–beyond regular wages/salary–is anticipated (e.g., administrative salary supplement, limited commitment of summer salary, etc.), the unit must also include the following other compensation template language in all academic personnel job postings:

    • Template language: Other compensation associated with this position may include [enter details].

General description of benefits requirement

The Office of Academic Personnel has configured UW’s Interfolio Faculty Search (FS) to append – to all Interfolio postings – a link to benefits information associated with the recruited title/rank. Units will not need to worry about including this information in their Interfolio job postings, but will need to include the following template language in all academic personnel job postings published outside of Interfolio Faculty Search (e.g., The Chronicle, professional journals):

Units must use the template language provided on this page. If a unit is interested in providing applicants with more detail about the salary range, other compensation, or benefits, they are welcome to add a subsequent sentence(s), provided the added language builds out from (and does not replace) the template language. Additional language added by the unit may not undermine or call into question the specificity of the salary range.

Planning for New Recruitments

In planning for new recruitments, units should review UW’s Create a Position user guide and guidance on this page.  Academic HR will check drafts to make sure they include a salary range. Those that don’t will be returned to the unit for correction.

Because departments, schools, and colleges have the most thorough awareness of what constitutes a realistic salary range for a given position as well as whether the position includes additional planned compensation, the responsibility for ensuring full compliance with the salary disclosure law resides with each dean’s/chancellor’s office.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I determine the salary range for my academic personnel job posting

A: Salary ranges can vary by title, rank, discipline, required/desired qualifications, and/or market averages, among other things. There is no one-size-fits-all salary range. The range must reflect the level of compensation the unit is prepared to offer, commensurate with the candidate’s experience and qualifications. The range should start at the lowest salary the unit would consider offering OR the UW salary minimum for the position, whichever is greater. Positions covered under a collective bargaining agreement must adhere to compensation provisions of the agreement. Unit leaders at the department, school, college, and/or campus level have the most thorough awareness of what constitutes a realistic salary range.

Will Academic HR provide guidance on salary ranges?

A: While AHR will not suggest a salary range nor opine on whether a proposed salary range is reasonable, they will check draft job postings coming through Interfolio to make sure they include a salary range and that the low end of the range meets or exceeds the UW salary minimum. If the posting is for a position covered under a collective bargaining agreement, AHR will check to confirm that the low end of the salary range meets or exceeds the compensation provisions of the agreement. 

What else will Academic HR do?

A: If a draft posting for a permanent-residence-eligible position includes a salary range inconsistent with current prevailing wage data from the U.S. Department of Labor, the International Scholars Operations (ISO) team will alert units as a courtesy. At that point, units will have discretion to revise the draft posting prior to final approval.  

Who is responsible for ensuring job postings are in compliance with the salary disclosure law?

A: Because departments, schools, colleges, and campuses have the most thorough awareness of what constitutes a realistic salary range as well as insight into planned compensation, the responsibility for ensuring full compliance with the salary disclosure law resides with each dean’s/chancellor’s office.

AHR is available to answer questions and provide guidance on what the salary disclosure law requires. 

Can we include an annual salary range instead of a monthly range?

A: No. UW requires the salary range to reflect a range of monthly salary. Units may also include the annual salary range in parenthesis after the monthly salary range (e.g., “The base salary range for this position will be $XX,000-$YY,000 per month ($XXX,000-$YYY,000 per 9-month academic year)…”).

Can we include a specific monthly salary instead of a salary range?

A: Yes. Units can indicate a specific monthly salary instead of a monthly salary range; however, they will then have no flexibility on what is offered to the preferred candidate. They will be limited to the specific salary identified in the job posting. If posting a specific salary, the template language can be changed to state “The base salary for this position will be $XX,XXX per month, commensurate with experience and qualifications, or as mandated by a U.S. Department of Labor prevailing wage determination.”

Can the unit revise the posted salary range during an active recruitment?

A: Yes. While the salary range should be carefully considered prior to starting a recruitment, units may decide they need to expand the salary range of an active recruitment to improve their efforts to attract a diverse, well qualified applicant pool. If the salary range is revised, it must be revised wherever it appears, and the job posting must remain active and visible for a minimum additional period from the date of the revision, as outlined on the table below.

Category Posting Requirement After Revising Salary Range Additional Considerations
Professorial Faculty Tracks 30 days – minimum Positions eligible for permanent residency sponsorship must be re-advertised for 30 days in the Chronicle of Higher Education
Other Academic Personnel 14 days – minimum This category includes academic personnel titles that are not eligible for permanent residency sponsorship. Some titles require a competitive recruitment; others do not. Please consult Academic Titles and Ranks to confirm specific recruitment requirements. If a unit chooses to conduct a competitive recruitment when none is required, they are subject to the 14-day posting requirement after revising the salary range.

What constitutes “other compensation to be offered to the hired applicant”?

A: At UW, ‘other compensation’ includes any planned compensation beyond the monthly base salary. Examples include, but are not limited to, an administrative stipend (ADS), limited commitment of summer salary, etc.

Does 'other compensation' have to be presented as a specific dollar amount or can it be a category of compensation?

A: A good rule of thumb is: if you know the specific amount of ‘other compensation’, state it; otherwise, state the category of compensation.

  • Example when a specific dollar amount is TBD: “Other compensation associated with this position may include a moving allowance.”
  • Example when a specific dollar amount is known: “Other compensation associated with this position may include a salary supplement of $1000 per month for administrative service as Graduate Program Director for the X Program.” (and then you would provide more detail later in the letter about the ‘at will’ nature of the administrative assignment and ADS).
  • Example when there is a mix: “Other compensation associated with this position may include a moving allowance, and salary supplement of $1000 per month for administrative service as Graduate Program Director for the X Program.” (and then you would provide more detail later in the letter about the ‘at will’ nature of the administrative assignment and ADS).

What if the job posting is for a position that is 100% PDR?

A: Recruitments for 100% PDR appointees are posted on UW Academic Jobs as a courtesy to the outside employer, who is ultimately responsible for compliance with the salary disclosure law. UW academic appointees who are employed and paid solely through a paid-direct relationship (PDR) are not UW employees and are not eligible for UW or Washington state employee benefits based on state law and the applicable regulations and program rules administered by certain Washington State agencies responsible for administering such benefits. The benefits template language provided on this page makes clear that the benefits summary information does not apply to appointees solely employed and paid via a PDR relationship.

Can the unit exceed the posted salary range if the candidate wants to negotiate for a higher salary?

A: No. The law requires that the offered salary fall within the range indicated in the job posting.  

My unit is conducting a recruitment for an assistant or associate professor. In terms of the salary range, how should this be reflected in the job posting?

A: The unit can post a single range that contemplates both ranks, or they can post two salary ranges – one for the assistant level and one for the associate level. If posting two ranges, the unit should take care to clearly identify which rank is associated with which range.   

In the salary range template language, what does the clause “or as mandated by a U.S. Department of Labor prevailing wage determination” mean?

A: This language means that the salary range in the job posting may be superseded by a U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) prevailing wage determination in the event that a foreign national requiring visa sponsorship is selected. For example, if a foreign national is selected and sponsored for an H-1B visa, UW cannot pay them below the prevailing wage determined by the DOL, regardless of the salary range listed in the job posting.

In the salary range template language, does the clause “or as mandated by a U.S. Department of Labor prevailing wage determination” mean that units are approved to pay the prevailing wage, even if it is higher than (1) the offered wage or (2) the posted salary range?

A: No. When the ISO team receives a high prevailing wage determination from DOL, it performs a visa strategic and equity analysis to determine whether the unit can move forward with offering the prevailing wage. The unit may not move forward with offering the prevailing wage until it receives approval from OAP.

What are the potential impacts of the new law as concerns the visa sponsorship process?

A: If the advertised salary range starts below the prevailing wage determined by DOL, the law may impact UW’s ability to sponsor positions for permanent residence. In such cases, ISO advisors will reach out to units to discuss any associated risks; however, ISO generally won’t be able to identify those cases until well after the unit has already selected the candidate.