Help wanted, work from anywhere ... except if you're located in Colorado
DigitalOcean is looking to hire a front-end software engineer who, if working remotely, is free to live anywhere in America, Canada, Germany, or Netherlands, but not in Colorado.
The US state in 2019 approved the Equal Pay for Equal Work Act and then formulated rules to apply the law [PDF], which went into effect on January 1, 2021. The statute requires, among other things, that companies posting job listings for in-state or remote positions include a salary amount or salary range. The intended purpose of the regulation is to prevent pay disparities.
DigitalOcean, which advertises about how it supports "a diverse and inclusive workplace," does not explain specifically why it won't consider hiring Colorado residents for remote positions, but its now-changed help wanted ad does make clear that Colorado is to blame.
"As a global company that hires across all 50 states and in multiple countries, we decided to put a short pause on posting jobs in Colorado as we assessed the impact of the new law," a company spokesperson said. "We currently have employees in Colorado and will continue to hire in Colorado. We will be updating our job postings within the next week to comply with this new law."
