Wage disclosure litigation

AN ACT Relating to providing consumer protection to prevent 1
exploitation of Washington businesses through abusive litigation 2
practices; amending RCW 49.58.110; and creating a new section.3
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:4
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that Washington's 5
laws serve important public purposes and should not be misused 6
through abusive litigation practices that impose substantial burdens 7
on Washington businesses without advancing compliance or protecting 8
the public. The legislature further finds that private civil 9
enforcement has, in some circumstances, resulted in a high volume of 10
actions alleging technical violations, and that inconsistent 11
application of remedies may lead to outcomes that do not advance the 12
underlying public purposes of Washington law.13
The legislature recognizes that Washington businesses may make 14
inadvertent or technical errors while acting in good faith to comply 15
with complex and evolving requirements, including requirements 16
implemented across multiple platforms and through third-party 17
vendors. The legislature finds that inconsistent application of 18
statutory remedies undermines confidence in the civil justice system 19
and results in unfair outcomes. 20
H-3375.2
HOUSE BILL 2728
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2026 Regular Session
By Representatives Richards, Ybarra, Leavitt, Dufault, Zahn, Corry,
Low, and Stuebe
Read first time 02/04/26. Referred to Committee on Labor & Workplace
Standards.
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The legislature intends that this act provide consumer protection 1
by preventing exploitation of Washington businesses through abusive 2
litigation practices, ensuring the fair and consistent application of 3
statutory remedies, and applying the statutory remedy framework 4
adopted by the legislature in 2025, including notice and cure and the 5
updated statutory damages structure, to all open cases that have not 6
reached a final judgment. The legislature further intends that this 7
act reduce frivolous claims and unnecessary litigation costs, 8
strengthen the stability and vitality of Washington's business 9
community, and preserve the underlying public purposes of Washington 10
law. 11
Sec. 2. RCW 49.58.110 and 2025 c 383 s 1 are each amended to 12
read as follows: 13
(1) Required disclosures in postings. 14
(a) The employer must disclose in each posting for each job 15
opening: (i) The wage scale or salary range, except where the 16
employer is offering only a fixed wage amount for the opening, the 17
employer must disclose the fixed wage amount rather than a scale or 18
range; and (ii) a general description of all of the benefits and 19
other compensation to be offered to the hired applicant. For the 20
purposes of this section, "posting" means any solicitation intended 21
to recruit job applicants for a specific available position, 22
including recruitment done directly by an employer or indirectly 23
through a third party, and includes any postings done electronically, 24
or with a printed hard copy, that includes qualifications for desired 25
applicants. "Posting" does not include a solicitation for recruiting 26
job applicants that is digitally replicated and published without an 27
employer's consent. 28
(b) For any postings from July 27, 2025, through July 27, 2027, 29
an employer must be afforded an opportunity to correct a violation of 30
this subsection (1) before a job applicant may seek remedies under 31
subsection (4) or (5) of this section. Any person may provide written 32
notice to an employer alleging that the employer's posting does not 33
comply with this subsection (1). If an employer receives notice from 34
any person as to a particular posting, this constitutes adequate 35
notice for the duration of that posting for any job applicant seeking 36
remedies under subsection (4) or (5) of this section. If the employer 37
corrects the posting within five business days of receiving the 38
written notice and, where applicable, contacts any applicable third-39
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party posting entity with a demand to correct the posting, then 1
neither the department nor the court may assess or award penalties, 2
damages, or other relief under this section for the violation. This 3
subsection (1)(b) does not apply after July 27, 2027.4
(2) Required disclosures for internal transfers and promotions.5
Upon request of an employee offered an internal transfer to a new 6
position or promotion, the employer must provide the wage scale or 7
salary range for the employee's new position, except where the 8
employer is offering only a fixed wage amount for the new position or 9
promotion, the employer must disclose the fixed wage amount rather 10
than a scale or range. 11
(3) Application. 12
(a) This section only applies to employers with 15 or more 13
employees. 14
(b) The remedies available and the definitions provided under 15
this section apply to any action or proceeding under this section in 16
which a final judgment has not been entered as of the effective date 17
of this section, regardless of when the cause of action arose.18
(4) Administrative remedies. 19
(a) The director shall investigate if a job applicant or employee 20
files a complaint with the department alleging a violation of this 21
section. If the director determines that a violation occurred, the 22
director shall attempt to resolve the violation by conference and 23
conciliation. If no agreement is reached to resolve the violation, 24
the director may issue a citation and notice of assessment and may 25
order the employer to pay each affected job applicant or employee 26
statutory damages of no less than $100 and no more than $5,000 per 27
violation. If ordering statutory damages, the department shall 28
consider the following when determining the amount of those damages: 29
Whether the violation was committed willfully or the violation is a 30
repeat violation; the size of the employer; the amount necessary to 31
deter future noncompliance; the purposes of this chapter; and any 32
other factor deemed appropriate by the department. In addition to 33
statutory damages, the director may: 34
(i) Order payment of the department's costs of investigation and 35
enforcement to the department; 36
(ii) Assess a civil penalty of up to $500 for a first violation 37
or up to $1,000 for a repeat violation; and 38
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(iii) Order actual damages, reinstatement, injunctive relief, or 1
other appropriate relief for an employee injured by a violation of 2
subsection (2) of this section. 3
(b) An appeal from the director's finding or determination may be 4
made in accordance with chapter 34.05 RCW. An employee or job 5
applicant who prevails is entitled to costs and reasonable attorneys' 6
fees. 7
(c) The department shall deposit civil penalties paid under this 8
section in the supplemental pension fund established under RCW 9
51.44.033. 10
(5) Private civil action. 11
(a) A job applicant or employee may bring a civil action against 12
an employer for a violation of this section with respect to the 13
postings for the job openings to which such applicant or employee 14
applied. A prevailing job applicant or employee is entitled to 15
statutory damages of no less than $100 and no more than $5,000 per 16
violation, plus reasonable attorneys' fees and costs. In determining 17
the amount of statutory damages, the court shall consider the 18
following: Whether the violation was committed willfully or the 19
violation is a repeat violation; the size of the employer; the amount 20
necessary to deter future noncompliance; the purposes of this 21
chapter; and any other factor deemed appropriate by the court. The 22
court may also order actual damages, reinstatement, injunctive 23
relief, and other appropriate remedies for an employee injured by a 24
violation of subsection (2) of this section. 25
(b) The job applicant or employee shall bring a civil action 26
within three years of the date of the alleged violation of this 27
section regardless of whether the job applicant or employee pursued 28
an administrative complaint. Filing a civil action under this 29
subsection terminates the director's processing of the complaint 30
under subsection (4) of this section. A job applicant or employee may 31
be awarded damages by the department under subsection (4) of this 32
section or the court under subsection (5) of this section, but not 33
both. 34
(6) Exclusive remedies. 35
The administrative remedies and private right of action under 36
this section constitute the exclusive remedies for violations of this 37
section. The remedies under RCW 49.58.060 and 49.58.070 are not 38
available for violations of this section. 39
(7) Rules. 40
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The department may adopt rules for purposes of implementing and 1
enforcing this section. 2
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