When you're scrolling through job ads, it's hard to know how much they pay. But a new bill would require Connecticut employment postings to include a salary range.

"Looking at it from both an employer and an employee perspective, why are we wasting one another's time?" said state Rep. Amy Morrin Bello (D-Wethersfield), who proposed the legislation.

New York City just implemented a similar law in November, and the rest of New York state will require posted pay ranges starting in September. Three other states, including California, have the same requirement.

In Connecticut, employers must disclose salary information – but only during the hiring process. A 2021 law says, "The employer must provide the wage range before or when offering the applicant the job, or when the applicant requests it during the application process." Rhode Island, Maryland and Nevada have similar laws. So do Jersey City in New Jersey, as well as Cincinnati and Toledo in Ohio.

But Morrin Bello believes most job candidates are afraid to ask for salary information before they get an offer.

"A lot of people don't realize that they can do that, or they're hesitant to ask, thinking that a potential employer will only think that they're interested in the money," she said.

Morrin Bello also thinks more transparency will lead to less discrimination.

"Anybody applying for the job understands what compensation will look like, and that shouldn't differ whether you're a man or a woman – whether you're white or Black or Brown."

Some workers love the idea.

"Because I think it gives the applicant a much better understanding of what the role is, and whether it's worth their time or the company's time," said Kim Silvay of Sherman.

But some companies are getting around the law by posting massive pay ranges, like one job listing for $90,000-$200,000 a year.

And here's another pitfall: The state's largest business group warns the change could cheat prospective jobseekers out of a bigger salary.

"We recently just hired someone. We had a range in mind for a particular position, but they brought a lot more skills than maybe we had even anticipated," said Eric Gjede with Connecticut Business and Industry Association. "And so, we made an offer that was outside — that was higher than our range."

But some job hunters don't buy that logic.

"I guess so, but how?" asked Alexis Schweitzer of Norwalk. "I would like to see stats on that. Because it's probably unlikely that that many people are really negotiating in their favor."

Morrin Bello's legislation now heads to the General Assembly's Labor and Public Employees committee, where it's likely to get a public hearing in the coming weeks.