Washington Amends Equal Pay and Opportunities Act

By: Brad Krupicka, Partner and Alex Lopez, Associate

On May 20, 2025, Governor Bob Ferguson signed Substitute Senate Bill 5408 into law, amending the Equal Pay and Opportunities Act (“EPOA”) effective June 27, 2025. The EPOA was originally enacted to promote pay transparency by requiring employers, starting January 1, 2023, to include the salary range or scale and a general description of benefits offered for each job posting. Violations allowed applicants and/or employees to bring a civil action for statutory damages of five thousand dollars each, leading to hundreds of class action lawsuits against employers, often seeking penalties totaling millions of dollars. In response to business concerns over the statute’s disproportionate penalties, the legislature passed SSB 5408, mitigating the consequences of noncompliance while maintaining the statute’s core pay transparency obligations. Key changes include:

Cure Period

For job postings from the amendment’s effective date through June 27, 2027, employers must be given an opportunity to correct non-compliant postings. Any person can provide written notice of non-compliance, and the employer will have five business days to correct the deficient posting before penalties may be imposed. The cure opportunity must be provided before the individual may seek any remedy under the law.

Fixed Wage Amount

Previously, the law strictly specified that a pay range was required, even if the employer only intended to offer a fixed amount. The amendment clarifies that employers may provide a fixed amount rather than a scale or range for such postings.

Unauthorized Third-Party Postings

The EPOA previously held employers liable for deficient postings made “indirectly through a third party.” The amendment clarifies that employers are not liable for unauthorized third-party reposts, a process known as “scraping.” Upon receiving written notice of a deficient posting, if an employer contacts the applicable third-party posting entity and demands they correct the posting, they will not be liable.

Discretionary Statutory Damages

The amendment clarifies the EPOA’s damages provision, expressly stating that an applicant may recover between $100 and $5,000 based on factors including whether the violation was willful or a repeat violation, the employer’s size, and what amount is “necessary to deter future noncompliance.” It further requires that applicants bring a civil action within three years of the violation, regardless of whether they also pursued administrative remedies.