Wage and salary disclosures

AN ACT Relating to removing the sunset date for an employer's 1
ability to correct wage and salary disclosures and defining 2
"applicant"; 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 pay 5
transparency in job postings serves an important public purpose in 6
addressing wage disparities and promoting fair compensation 7
practices. The legislature further finds that while employers should 8
be held accountable for willful or repeated violations of pay 9
transparency requirements, the law should not incentivize 10
opportunistic litigation by individuals who have no genuine interest 11
in employment.12
The legislature recognizes that good-faith employers may make 13
inadvertent errors in job postings, particularly given the complexity 14
of multiplatform recruitment and the involvement of third-party job 15
boards. The legislature intends to maintain robust enforcement 16
mechanisms while providing reasonable protections for employers who 17
act in good faith to comply with pay transparency requirements.18
The legislature intends that this act balance the twin goals of 19
ensuring workers have access to wage information necessary to combat 20
pay discrimination while protecting businesses from abusive 21
S-3565.2
SENATE BILL 6221
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2026 Regular Session
By Senators King, Lovick, Harris, Krishnadasan, Christian, Riccelli,
Gildon, Schoesler, Braun, Dozier, Nobles, and Trudeau
Read first time 01/19/26. Referred to Committee on Labor & Commerce.
p. 1 SB 6221
litigation practices that do not serve the underlying purpose of pay 1
equity. 2
Sec. 2. RCW 49.58.110 and 2025 c 383 s 1 are each amended to 3
read as follows: 4
(1) Required disclosures in postings. 5
(a) The employer must disclose in each posting for each job 6
opening: (i) The wage scale or salary range, except where the 7
employer is offering only a fixed wage amount for the opening, the 8
employer must disclose the fixed wage amount rather than a scale or 9
range; and (ii) a general description of all of the benefits and 10
other compensation to be offered to the hired applicant. For the 11
purposes of this section, "posting" means any solicitation intended 12
to recruit job applicants for a specific available position, 13
including recruitment done directly by an employer or indirectly 14
through a third party, and includes any postings done electronically, 15
or with a printed hard copy, that includes qualifications for desired 16
applicants. "Posting" does not include a solicitation for recruiting 17
job applicants that is digitally replicated and published without an 18
employer's consent. 19
(b) ((For any postings from July 27, 2025, through July 27, 2027, 20
an)) An employer must be afforded an opportunity to correct a 21
violation of this subsection (1) before a job applicant may seek 22
remedies under subsection (((4) or)) (5) or (6) of this section. Any 23
person may provide written notice to an employer alleging that the 24
employer's posting does not comply with this subsection (1). If an 25
employer receives notice from any person as to a particular posting, 26
this constitutes adequate notice for the duration of that posting for 27
any job applicant seeking remedies under subsection (((4) or)) (5) or 28
(6) of this section. If the employer corrects the posting within five 29
business days of receiving the written notice and, where applicable, 30
contacts any applicable third-party posting entity with a demand to 31
correct the posting, then neither the department nor the court may 32
assess or award penalties, damages, or other relief under this 33
section for the violation. ((This subsection (1)(b) does not apply 34
after July 27, 2027.))35
(2) Required disclosures for internal transfers and promotions.36
Upon request of an employee offered an internal transfer to a new 37
position or promotion, the employer must provide the wage scale or 38
salary range for the employee's new position, except where the 39
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employer is offering only a fixed wage amount for the new position or 1
promotion, the employer must disclose the fixed wage amount rather 2
than a scale or range. 3
(3) For purposes of this section, "applicant" means a person who 4
applies for a position with a genuine intent to be considered for 5
employment.6
(4) Application. 7
(a) This section only applies to employers with 15 or more 8
employees. 9
(((4))) (b) The remedies available and the definitions provided 10
under this section apply to any action or proceeding under this 11
section in which a final judgment has not been entered as of the 12
effective date of this section, regardless of when the cause of 13
action arose.14
(5) Administrative remedies. 15
(a) The director shall investigate if a job applicant or employee 16
files a complaint with the department alleging a violation of this 17
section. If the director determines that a violation occurred, the 18
director shall attempt to resolve the violation by conference and 19
conciliation. If no agreement is reached to resolve the violation, 20
the director may issue a citation and notice of assessment and may 21
order the employer to pay each affected job applicant or employee 22
statutory damages of no less than $100 and no more than $5,000 per 23
violation. If ordering statutory damages, the department shall 24
consider the following when determining the amount of those damages: 25
Whether the violation was committed willfully or the violation is a 26
repeat violation; the size of the employer; the amount necessary to 27
deter future noncompliance; the purposes of this chapter; and any 28
other factor deemed appropriate by the department. In addition to 29
statutory damages, the director may: 30
(i) Order payment of the department's costs of investigation and 31
enforcement to the department; 32
(ii) Assess a civil penalty of up to $500 for a first violation 33
or up to $1,000 for a repeat violation; and 34
(iii) Order actual damages, reinstatement, injunctive relief, or 35
other appropriate relief for an employee injured by a violation of 36
subsection (2) of this section. 37
(b) An appeal from the director's finding or determination may be 38
made in accordance with chapter 34.05 RCW. An employee or job 39
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applicant who prevails is entitled to costs and reasonable attorneys' 1
fees. 2
(c) The department shall deposit civil penalties paid under this 3
section in the supplemental pension fund established under RCW 4
51.44.033. 5
(((5))) (6) Private civil action. 6
(a) A job applicant or employee may bring a civil action against 7
an employer for a violation of this section. Except where they meet 8
the definition of job applicant, an employee's civil action may only 9
be brought pursuant to subsection (2) of this section. A prevailing 10
job applicant or employee is entitled to statutory damages of no less 11
than $100 and no more than $5,000 per violation, plus reasonable 12
attorneys' fees and costs. In determining the amount of statutory 13
damages, the court shall consider the following: Whether the 14
violation was committed willfully or the violation is a repeat 15
violation; the size of the employer; the amount necessary to deter 16
future noncompliance; the purposes of this chapter; and any other 17
factor deemed appropriate by the court. The court may also order 18
actual damages, reinstatement, injunctive relief, and other 19
appropriate remedies for an employee injured by a violation of 20
subsection (2) of this section. 21
(b) The job applicant or employee shall bring a civil action 22
within three years of the date of the alleged violation of this 23
section regardless of whether the job applicant or employee pursued 24
an administrative complaint. Filing a civil action under this 25
subsection terminates the director's processing of the complaint 26
under subsection (((4))) (5) of this section. A job applicant or 27
employee may be awarded damages by the department under subsection 28
(((4))) (5) of this section or the court under subsection (((5))) (6) 29
of this section, but not both. 30
(((6))) (7) Exclusive remedies. 31
The administrative remedies and private right of action under 32
this section constitute the exclusive remedies for violations of this 33
section. The remedies under RCW 49.58.060 and 49.58.070 are not 34
available for violations of this section. 35
(((7))) (8) Rules. 36
The department may adopt rules for purposes of implementing and 37
enforcing this section. 38
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