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Massachusetts will make businesses with over 25 employees disclose salary ranges when posting jobs

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Massachusetts will make businesses with over 25 employees disclose salary ranges when posting jobs


Massachusetts businesses with more than 25 employees must disclose salary ranges when posting jobs, under a new bill signed into law Wednesday that puts the commonwealth in line with 10 other states that already require pay transparency.

The new law also protects a worker’s right to ask their employer for the salary range when applying for a job or seeking a promotion.

“This new law is an important next step toward closing wage gaps, especially for People of Color and women,” Gov. Maura Healey, a Democrat, said in a written statement after signing the bill. “It will also strengthen the ability of Massachusetts employers to build diverse, talented teams.”

Healey’s signature makes Massachusetts the 11th state to mandate pay transparency by requiring employers to disclose salary ranges, supporters said, citing data from the National Women’s Law Center.

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Backers said the new law builds on a 2016 state statute that prohibited wage discrimination based on gender.

“Massachusetts is now one step closer to ensuring equal pay for equal work,” Democratic House Speaker Ronald Mariano said after lawmakers sent the bill to Healey last week. “Pay transparency will not only make our workplaces more equitable, it will also make Massachusetts more competitive with other states.”

Democratic Senate President Karen Spilka said last week that it’s too common for women and people of color to be paid less than their co-workers nationwide, and Massachusetts is not immune.

The head of Associated Industries of Massachusetts, which bills itself as the state’s largest business association, credited lawmakers with working with advocacy and business groups to hammer out a final compromise version of the bill.

“AIM believes these important policy changes strike the right balance by promoting open and honest communication about wages while not overburdening our employers with cumbersome and time-consuming reporting requirements,” AIM President Brooke Thomson said after the final bill was released.

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The law also requires businesses with more than 100 employees to share their federal wage and workforce data reports with the state Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development. The agency is responsible for compiling and publishing aggregated wage and workforce data to help identify gender and racial wage gaps by industry.

The Attorney General’s Office will also be given the authority to impose fines or civil citations for violations of the law, and employees will receive protections against retaliation for asking for salary ranges when applying for a job or promotion.

The attorney general will conduct a public awareness campaign on the new rules.

In Greater Boston, the 2023 gender wage gap was 21 cents, according to the Boston Women’s Workforce Council. Black women faced a 54-cent wage gap, while Hispanic and Latina women faced a 52-cent wage gap, and Asian women faced a 19-cent wage gap, according to the group.

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Massachusetts

‘No way to leave’: Mass. families stuck in Middle East amid war in Iran

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‘No way to leave’: Mass. families stuck in Middle East amid war in Iran


Massachusetts families are stuck in the Middle East amid the war in Iran, and Democratic Sen. Ed Markey says the State Department needs to do more to get them home.

The Trump administration is telling Americans to leave the region, and families would love to, but they haven’t been able to get out.

Stacey Schuhwerk of Hingham has been sheltering in place in a Doha hotel since Saturday.

“We hear the missiles outside,” she said. “We can see them.”

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The Hingham mother and her son are among nearly 1,600 Americans trapped in the Middle East with no way to get home.

“Airspace is shut down. There’s no planes,” said Schuhwerk. “There’s no way to leave.”

Flights between Boston and the Middle East are canceled or delayed as travelers express anxiety over the conflict.

At first, U.S. officials told people to shelter in place and register with the State Department — something Schuhwerk did days ago.

“There’s no help there. The last time we called was 20 minutes ago, and they continue to say that ‘We don’t know anything about any plans for government help to get people out,’” she said.

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Embassies and consulates across the region — including the U.S. Embassy in Israel — have now suspended services, saying they simply can’t get Americans out.

“They did not have a plan to conduct this war, and they clearly did not have a plan as to how to evacuate innocent families,” Markey said.

The senator says his office is hearing from Massachusetts families, and he’s pressuring the Trump administration to come up with an evacuation plan fast.

“We are going to apply that pressure on the State Department until every American who wants to leave that region is out,” he said.

Back in Doha, Schuhwerk keeps watching the war outside her window.

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“The talk here is ‘How much defensive ammunition’s left?’ Good question, you know, because the missiles aren’t stopping,” she said. “So how long are we going to be safe here?”

With no clear end to this conflict, she’s worried she could be stuck there for weeks.



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Snow, ice, rain to impact roads in Massachusetts – Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News

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Snow, ice, rain to impact roads in Massachusetts – Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News


Happy Tuesday! While today started off dry, we’re already looking at snow out there across the area. While this event will primarily stay as rain on the Cape and islands, it will be an icy mix of snow, ice and rain for the rest of us.

The rain/snow line will continue to advance from the south to the north as the evening progresses. Before the changeover, there will be a quick coating to 2 inches for most of our area.

The threshold between the snow and rain will feature sleet and freezing rain, leading to that icing.

For the rest of the night, there will primarily be rain with continued pockets of freezing rain, leading to increasing spotty ice accretion. Be extremely careful on roads, especially since switching between rain and freezing rain can wash off any road salt.

The rain and freezing rain will exit by 6 a.m. Wednesday, but temperatures will still be close to freezing during the morning commute, so watch out for some spotty black ice.

The rest of Wednesday will be really nice! Highs will warm up to the mid 50s with the help of ample sun.

Thursday we start off in the mid 20s and top off in the mid 40s. We’ll be partly sunny with another chance for some wintry weather Thursday night. This primarily looks like some rain and freezing rain, rather than the triple threat with snow too. We’ll keep an eye on that for you.

That will continue into Friday morning. The rest of Friday: cloudy with a chance for a spot shower and highs cooler again in the upper 30s. Saturday will be dry, breezy and cloudy but gorgeous near 50 degrees! There’s a chance for some rain showers Saturday night. Don’t forget to set your clocks forward an hour before you to go bed!

Sunday we start the day mild in the 40s and make it all the way into the upper 50s with more sun. Monday and Tuesday both look bright and in the 60s! Stay tuned.

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Massachusetts man awaits word from family in Iran after attacks

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Massachusetts man awaits word from family in Iran after attacks




Massachusetts man awaits word from family in Iran after attacks – CBS Boston

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Poya Sohrabi hasn’t heard from his family since they took shelter from attacks in Tehran. WBZ-TV’s Mike Sullivan reports.

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