what’ s working
Fixing WA’ s Pay Transparency Law
Bipartisan bill will help protect employers from frivolous litigation while preserving pay transparency.
Jacqueline Allison
AWB leads successful effort to address“ cottage industry” of costly lawsuits stemming from Washington’ s pay transparency law.
At A Glance
Washington’ s pay transparency law requires employers to include wage ranges in job postings, aiming to improve fairness and help close the gender pay gap.
Since 2023, hundreds of employers have been sued for allegedly failing to include salary information in job postings, including for postings on thirdparty websites.
Sen. Curtis King, R-Yakima, sponsored Senate Bill 5408, which helps prevent frivolous lawsuits over Washington’ s pay transparency law.
Washington is one of a growing number of states to enact pay transparency laws, requiring employers to publish pay ranges in all job postings. The rule aims to give job seekers important information, strengthen their negotiating power, and help close the gender wage gap.
But Washington’ s pay transparency law, which took effect in 2023, had unintended consequences. In just a few
“ Employers want to post salary information because it increases trust among the potential employees and increases trust for the current workforce.”
— Lindsey Hueer, AWB’ s employment law lead during the 2025 legislative session.
years, the law triggered hundreds of lawsuits and exposed employers to half a billion dollars in potential liability for alleged violations.
In the 2025 legislative session, the Legislature overwhelmingly approved key changes to bring relief to employers while still preserving pay transparency requirements. AWB worked closely with lawmakers to help pass Senate Bill 5048, which gives employers a five-day window to amend job postings for two years, removes liability for mistakes on third-party job sites, and gives judges more discretion in awarding damages.
Unfortunately, there was a less positive outcome stemming from a case that made its way to the state Supreme Court. In a ruling in September, the court’ s majority took a broad view of“ job applicant” – setting the stage for future lawsuits.
The flood of lawsuits didn’ t indicate a widespread issue with compliance; it pointed to a small number of plaintiffs and law firms seeking to profit from the law’ s private right of action.
In the 2025 legislative session, lawmakers passed a bipartisan solution that makes important changes to preserve pay transparency while protecting employers from costly lawsuits.
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