No, you do not need proof that you applied for a job at Target to file a claim in the Target Washington Job Posting Pay Transparency Settlement. That is the single most important thing to know about this $2.225 million settlement, and it trips people up because the assumption is reasonable — of course you’d need to prove you applied, right? Wrong. Target’s own employment records are being used to verify eligibility, so the company already knows whether you applied. What you actually need is your Unique ID and PIN from the mailed settlement notice, and that is essentially your ticket to file.
The case, formally *Brinkman v. Target Corporation* in King County Superior Court, alleges that Target failed to include wage scales, salary ranges, and benefits descriptions in its Washington State job postings, violating the Washington Equal Pay and Opportunities Act (RCW 49.58). Target denies wrongdoing but agreed to settle to end the litigation. Eligible claimants could receive up to $1,711.93, with a claim filing deadline of March 31, 2026.
Table of Contents
- What Proof Does the Target Washington Pay Transparency Settlement Actually Require?
- Who Is Eligible and What Happens If You Were Rejected
- What to Do If You Lost Your Settlement Notice
- How to File Your Claim Before the March 31, 2026 Deadline
- Understanding the Law Behind the Settlement — RCW 49.58
- The Broader Wave of Pay Transparency Lawsuits in Washington
- What Pay Transparency Enforcement Looks Like Going Forward
- Frequently Asked Questions
What Proof Does the Target Washington Pay Transparency Settlement Actually Require?
Let’s be specific. The settlement does not require you to dig through your email for a target application confirmation. It does not require a screenshot of the job posting you responded to. It does not require you to remember which position you applied for or when. Target maintained records of every application submitted through its hiring system, and the settlement administrator — Simpluris — is using those records to identify and notify eligible class members. If you got a notice in the mail, you are already verified. What you do need is the Unique ID and PIN printed on that mailed notice. Think of it like a voter registration card — the government already confirmed you’re eligible, and the card is just your access credential.
You enter those two pieces of information on the online claim form, or you include them on the paper form you mail in. That is the entire proof requirement. If you happen to have your own records — a confirmation email from Target’s careers portal, a screenshot of the posting — those can help resolve discrepancies if something goes wrong with the administrator’s records. But they are supplementary, not required. One important comparison: this is different from many consumer class action settlements where you need to provide a receipt or proof of purchase. In those cases, no company record exists tying you to the product, so the burden falls on you. Here, Target’s applicant tracking system does the heavy lifting. The barrier to filing is intentionally low because the violation was on Target’s side — they failed to disclose pay information in postings, and every person who applied was affected equally regardless of whether they kept personal records.
Who Is Eligible and What Happens If You Were Rejected
Eligibility covers anyone who applied for a Target job in washington State between January 1, 2023 and July 26, 2025. It does not matter whether you got the job, were rejected, or withdrew your application partway through. The violation was in the job posting itself — the failure to disclose salary ranges and benefits — so the harm occurred at the moment you viewed and responded to a noncompliant posting, not at any later stage of the hiring process. This is worth emphasizing because people who were rejected or never heard back from Target might assume they have no standing. That assumption is wrong.
If you applied for a cashier position in Spokane in March 2024 and never received a callback, you are just as eligible as someone who applied and was hired as a store manager in Seattle. The statute protects applicants’ right to salary transparency information before they invest time in the application process, and that right was violated for everyone in the class period. However, if you applied for a Target job in Oregon, California, or any other state, this settlement does not cover you — even if you are a Washington resident. The class is defined by where the job posting was located, not where the applicant lives. So a Portland resident who applied for a position at a Vancouver, Washington Target store would be eligible, but a Seattle resident who applied for a position at a Portland Target store would not. Washington’s Equal Pay and Opportunities Act governs postings for jobs in Washington, and the geographic line matters.
What to Do If You Lost Your Settlement Notice
If you received a notice and lost it, or if you believe you should have received one but did not, you have options. Contact the settlement administratorsettlement administrator[contact via the official settlement website] or call [see official settlement website]. The administrator can look you up in the records and reissue your Unique ID and PIN. Do not wait on this — the claim deadline is March 31, 2026, and processing a replacement notice takes time. A realistic scenario: you moved between the time you applied for the Target job and the time notices were mailed. Target had your old address from your application, and the notice went to a place you no longer live. This is common in class action settlements, and it is exactly why the administrator has a phone number and email.
They are not going to turn you away because mail forwarding failed. But you do need to initiate the contact yourself. No one is going to chase you down. One thing to be aware of — scam notices exist in the class action space. If someone contacts you claiming to be from the settlement and asks for payment, a Social Security number, or bank account information to “process your claim,” that is fraud. The real settlement administrator will never ask for sensitive financial information beyond what is on the claim form. When in doubt, call the official number listed above and verify.
How to File Your Claim Before the March 31, 2026 Deadline
You have two filing options: online or by mail. Online is faster and gives you instant confirmation. Go to the settlement website, enter your Unique ID and PIN from the mailed notice, and submit the claim form. The process takes a few minutes. By mail, send your completed claim form to: Brinkman v. Target Corp., c/o Simpluris, P.O. Box 26170, Santa Ana, CA 92799. If you mail it, the form must be postmarked by March 31, 2026. The tradeoff between the two methods is straightforward.
Filing online gives you a digital record and immediate confirmation that your claim was received. Filing by mail means you are relying on postal delivery and have no confirmation unless you send it via certified mail with a return receipt — which costs a few dollars but gives you a postmark record and proof of delivery. If you are filing in the last week of March, online is the safer choice because you eliminate the risk of a postal delay pushing your postmark past the deadline. After you file, the final approval hearing is scheduled for May 5, 2026. Assuming the court grants final approval, checks will be mailed to approved claimants. The estimated payment is up to $1,711.93 per person, though the final amount depends on how many total claims are approved — more claimants means each person’s share of the $2.225 million fund decreases. Once you receive your check, you have 180 days to cash it. Do not put it in a drawer and forget about it. Uncashed settlement checks revert to the settlement fund or are distributed according to the court’s instructions, and you get nothing.
Understanding the Law Behind the Settlement — RCW 49.58
The Washington Equal Pay and Opportunities Act, specifically RCW 49.58.110, requires every employer with 15 or more employees to disclose the wage scale or salary range and a general description of benefits and other compensation in each job posting. This applies to postings for jobs that will be performed in Washington or that could be performed by someone in Washington if the employer has any Washington-based employees. The law carries statutory damages of $100 to $5,000 per violation, plus attorneys’ fees. Target, with tens of thousands of employees and hundreds of job postings in Washington during the class period, faced significant potential exposure under this statute. Even at $100 per violation across thousands of applicants, the math adds up quickly.
The $2.225 million settlement likely represents a fraction of the theoretical maximum damages, which is typical — defendants settle for less than worst-case exposure, and plaintiffs accept certainty over the risk of trial. A significant recent development: in 2025, Washington passed SSB 5408, which gives employers a 5-business-day cure period to fix noncompliant job postings before penalties kick in. This amendment is effective from July 27, 2025 through July 27, 2027. It does not affect the Target settlement, which covers postings made before the amendment took effect. But it does mean that going forward, employers have a brief window to correct mistakes, which may reduce the frequency of similar lawsuits — or at least change the litigation strategy for future cases.
The Broader Wave of Pay Transparency Lawsuits in Washington
This case was not filed in isolation. Emery Reddy, the Seattle employment law firm behind *Brinkman v. Target*, has filed 31 pay transparency lawsuits in Washington.
Target is one of the larger employers caught up in this enforcement wave, but the legal theory applies equally to any employer with 15 or more employees that posted jobs in Washington without salary range disclosures during the relevant period. If you applied for jobs at other major employers in Washington during 2023–2025, it is worth checking whether similar settlements exist or are pending for those companies. The same law and the same firm are driving many of these cases, and you may be a class member in more than one settlement without realizing it. Each settlement is independent, so eligibility in one does not affect your eligibility in another.
What Pay Transparency Enforcement Looks Like Going Forward
Washington’s pay transparency law is not going away, and the enforcement landscape is still evolving. The 2025 amendment adding a cure period suggests the legislature is trying to balance worker protections with practical concerns about compliance — giving employers a chance to fix honest mistakes before facing penalties. Whether that cure period survives past its 2027 sunset date depends on how well it works in practice and whether the legislature sees it as enabling better compliance or enabling foot-dragging. For job seekers in Washington, the practical takeaway is this: you have a legal right to see salary ranges and benefits information in job postings, and companies that fail to provide it face real financial consequences.
If you notice a posting that lacks this information, that is not just an annoyance — it is a potential violation of state law. And if you applied for a Target job in Washington between January 2023 and July 2025, you have until March 31, 2026 to file a claim for your share of $2.225 million. No proof of application required. Just your Unique ID and PIN.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to provide proof that I applied for a job at Target to file a claim?
No. Target’s own employment records are used to verify eligibility. You only need the Unique ID and PIN from your mailed settlement notice.
What if I applied but was never hired or never heard back?
You are still eligible. The settlement covers everyone who applied for a Target job in Washington State between January 1, 2023 and July 26, 2025, regardless of whether you were hired, rejected, or withdrew.
How much money will I receive?
The estimated payment is up to $1,711.93 per claimant, but the final amount depends on the total number of approved claims. More claimants means smaller individual payments from the $2.225 million fund.
I lost my settlement notice. Can I still file?
Yes. Contact the settlement administratorsettlement administrator[contact via the official settlement website] or call [see official settlement website] to get your Unique ID and PIN reissued.
What is the deadline to file a claim?
March 31, 2026. If filing by mail, the claim form must be postmarked by that date.
I applied for a Target job in another state but I live in Washington. Am I eligible?
No. Eligibility is based on the location of the job posting, not your state of residence. The job must have been in Washington State.
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