The language in your job ads does more legal work than most people realise. Beyond pay transparency requirements, every posting carries potential exposure under EEOC federal guidelines, ADA requirements, and state human rights laws. This guide is your practical reference for what to include, what to avoid, and why.
Salary and compensation language
Do: Include a specific salary range: "The salary range for this role is $85,000 to $110,000 annually." This is compliant in every active US jurisdiction.
Do not: Use "competitive salary," "market rate," "DOE," or any formulation that leaves the range unknown. These are non-compliant in California, Colorado, NYC, Washington, Illinois, and New Jersey, and poor practice everywhere else.
Experience and qualifications
Do: Specify concrete, job-related qualifications: "5+ years in B2B SaaS product management." Specific and defensible.
Do not: Use language that could imply age preference. "Recent graduate," "digital native," "young and hungry" can expose you under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act. The EEOC has flagged experience caps as potential age discrimination proxies.
Culture and personality language
Do not: Use coded language: "rockstar," "ninja," "tribe," "aggressive go-getter," "work hard play hard." These have documented patterns of deterring women, older candidates, and underrepresented groups.
Do: Describe the work environment concretely: "fast-paced environment with multiple concurrent projects." Functional and inclusive.
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Start free trialThe EEO statement
Every posting should include an EEO statement referencing all protected classes: race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age (40+), disability, and genetic information. For federal contractors, protected veteran status is also required. See our full EEOC compliance guide.