By: Ronald Tang of Rocke Law
The following was written by Rocke Law and shared with the Washington Hospitality Association for informational purposes only. The information in this blog post should not be considered legal advice from the Washington Hospitality Association. Consult your own legal counsel for legal advice regarding your specific situation.
Local business owners, do not let a technicality in your job postings put your business at financial risk. Read this short guide and ensure your job posting is compliant with Washington’s Equal Pay and Opportunities Act (“EPOA”).
The Legal Exposure Behind Each Job Posting
Since 2023, hundreds of Washington employers, including hospitality businesses, have been hit with EPOA class action lawsuits for job postings that did not include sufficient wage information. These lawsuits often sought hundreds of thousands of dollars because each violation (each job applicant) could claim up to $5,000 in damages, plus attorney fees. With some job applications taking only seconds to complete, popular job postings could easily reach hundreds of applications in a few days. One judge criticized the law as creating an incentive for “bounty seekers” to “trawl the Internet for noncompliant job postings” and targeting unknowing business owners.
As if tight margins, staffing challenges, and rising costs are not tough enough, local business owners must strive to keep up with changes in employment law to avoid great financial harm.
You Must Include These Three Things
If your company conducts business in Washington and has 15 or more employees, then every job posting advertised to Washington job seekers or where the job is performed in Washington must include:
- The pay for the job: fixed hourly pay rate, a wage scale, or a salary range;
- A general description of benefits (health insurance, PTO, etc.)
- Any other compensation (bonuses, commissions, etc.)
This applies to all job postings, internal and external, no matter the channel. Digital, such as Indeed, Glassdoor, or ZipRecruiter; paper advertisements; and recruiters, such as staffing agencies.
This is required for all positions, whether hourly or salaried, including cooks, servers, wait staff, office positions, and managers.
Two-Year Grace Period
For job postings between July 27, 2025, and July 27, 2027, a complainant must provide the employer with written notice about the noncompliant job posting and a five-business-day grace period to fix the job posting before they file a lawsuit. However, do not lower your guard. Written notice is not defined under the law. An email, online comment, or other form of digital communication may suffice as providing the employer with adequate written notice, even if you do not see the writing immediately!
Tips to Stay Compliant
- Audit all job postings now: Make sure every job post includes all three components: pay, benefits, and other compensation. You are not liable for job ads that are copied and reposted by “job board” sites (known as “scraping”) without your consent.
- Centralize your job posting processes: Make one person responsible for auditing all job ads to make sure they are compliant. Having more than one person handle job ads increases the risk of noncompliance.
- Be ready to update noncompliant postings: Have protocols in place to fix any noncompliant postings immediately. Assume that you may not see the written notice immediately and thus may not have the full five-day grace period.
- Train your managers: Anyone who posts jobs should know the rules.
- Keep records: Save copies of all job ads, date range they were accessible, a list of all applicants, and any notices you receive.
- Set a reminder: The grace period ends July 27, 2027. After that, no written notice is required.
- Consult legal counsel: If you’re unsure, get legal advice from an experienced employment attorney, such as the ones at Rocke Law.
What If You Get Sued?
- Get legal representation: Class action lawsuits are serious matters that require immediate attention from an experienced attorney.
- Act immediately: If you get a written notice or a lawsuit, update your job posting(s) within five business days.
- Document everything: Save proof of when you received the notice, what corrections you made, and the date they were made.
- Notify third parties: If your post is on other sites, contact them to update or remove the noncompliant ad.
Rocke Law has been an allied member of the Washington Hospitality Association since 2025. They serve Washington state employers in their employment and business matters that include, but are not limited to, disputes, litigation, class action defense, and more!
Allied members can submit guest blog posts for consideration to infoteam@wahospitality.org.