A qualifying Washington EPOA lawsuit centers on a covered job posting that omits required pay data. The Equal Pay and Opportunities Act (EPOA) is Washington's pay-transparency law for job postings.
A missing salary range or fixed wage counts. A missing general description of benefits and other compensation counts too. These gaps matter when the employer has 15 or more employees and the posting offers a specific open job.
Official resources:
- Check eligibility on Wa’s official study page — Use this page to check the study’s participation requirements.
- Read the official guidance from Wa — Use this primary source to verify the official guidance.
Table of Contents
- What must a posting include?
- Who counts as a job applicant?
- Which postings do not qualify?
- What notice and payment rules apply now?
What must a posting include?
Washington law requires larger employers to show pay in each posting for each opening. According to the Washington State Legislature, employers with 15 or more employees must disclose the wage scale or salary range, or the fixed wage if only one amount is offered, plus benefits and other compensation in the current statute. The Washington Department of Labor and Industries says the same posting must include wage information and a general description of all benefits and other compensation.
A posting with one fixed amount may use that amount instead of a range, according to the 2025 agency update. In practice, the violation is the omission. No range, no fixed wage, or no general benefits description leaves a worker unable to compare the opportunity. That omission is the core claim described by employment-law analysts.
Who counts as a job applicant?
You qualify as an applicant when you apply for a specific available position. You do not need to prove you wanted the job in good faith. The Washington Supreme Court decided this point on Sept. 4, 2025 in Branson v.
Washington Fine Wine and Spirits. According to the Buchalter summary of the decision, any person applying to a specific available position is a job applicant, with no good-faith or bona-fide-applicant requirement in the court opinion summary. That rule widened who can sue. It also explains why employers faced hundreds of class actions after the disclosure duty took effect on Jan. 1, 2023.
Which postings do not qualify?
Not every incomplete pay ad supports a lawsuit. The employer must have 15 or more employees. The ad must be the employer's own posting for an open job. An unauthorized copy is a key limit.
When a third-party site scrapes or reposts a job without employer consent, that copy is not the employer's posting. The employer is not liable for pay data missing from that unauthorized version. Also check whether pay data was truly absent. A posting with a fixed wage does not violate the law merely because it lacks a range. A posting with a range and a general benefits description usually does not present the core EPOA pay-transparency violation.
What notice and payment rules apply now?
Early cases carried strict liability, with many applicants seeking $5,000 each plus attorney fees. The rules changed for newer claims. From July 27, 2025 to July 27, 2027, an applicant must give written notice before seeking damages.
According to Epstein Becker and Green, the employer then has five business days to correct the posting and notify third-party sites, with no damages if cured in the July 2025 legal analysis. If the employer does not cure the violation, a court may award $100 to $5,000 per violation. The amount turns on employer size, deterrence need, and willfulness, plus attorney fees, actual damages, and equitable relief.
- Save the posting date, URL, screenshots, and employer name and size.
- Note exactly what is missing: range or fixed wage, benefits description, or other compensation.
- Send the required written notice and keep proof of delivery.