The Washington Equal Pay and Opportunities Act (RCW 49.58) was amended effective January 1, 2023 to require that certain information be included in job postings. This memo explains the new requirements including applicability to multi-state advertisements.
Overview
The amendments to the Washington Equal Pay and Opportunities Act require employers with 15 or more employees, engaged in any business, industry, profession or activity in Washington, to include the following in their job postings:
- Wage scale or salary range,
- A general description of all benefits for that position, and
- A general description of all other compensation to be offered to the hired applicant.
Applicability
The new law applies to all employers with 15 or more employees doing business in the state of Washington. It applies to both public and private employers, including the state and any state institution, agency and political subdivision of the state. Employer is defined as:
[A]ny person, firm, corporation, partnership, business trust, legal representative, or other business entity which engages in any business, industry, profession, or activity in this state and employs one or more employees, and includes the state, any state institution, state agency, political subdivisions of the state, and any municipal corporation or quasi-municipal corporation.
The law applies whether the job is posted by the employer directly or through a third party such as a recruiting agency.
Job posting must be kept updated. This includes not only updating the ad if benefits or compensation for the position change, but also updating ads which were posted before January 1st but will continue to run after the new law goes into effect on January 1st.
