As we previously discussed in our August 2022 blog post, beginning January 1, 2023, Washington State’s Pay Transparency Act requires covered employers who post job openings that include a list of qualifications for a specific position must include compensation and benefit information in the posting.
Recently, the Department of Labor & Industries (DLI) issued official guidance that differs somewhat from previous statements (see Equal Pay and Opportunities Act ES.E.1 (wa.gov) beginning at page 3), which leads us to provide the following updates to our prior blog post:
Covered employers are those who engage in business in Washington and have 15 or more employees, including at least one of whom is Washington-based. Employees physically located in Washington will almost always be considered “Washington-based employees” but so can other employees. For information on how DLI evaluates whether an employee is “Washington-based,” see ES.A.13 Minimum Wage Act – Washington-Based Employee.
Covered postings do not include postings for jobs performed completely outside the state of Washington, even if the postings reach Washington-based employees. This exception is to be narrowly construed, generally to those positions tied to a worksite physically located entirely outside of Washington (e.g., waitstaff at a restaurant located outside Washington).
The required general description of benefits must include identifying the different types of insurance offered, different types of retirement benefits offered, amounts of PTO/vacation provided, the number of paid holidays, and details of more generous paid sick leave offered beyond what is mandated by state or local law (if any).
Other compensation that must be generally described includes bonuses, commissions, profit sharing, stock options, or other forms of compensation in addition to salary or wage rate.
For electronic job postings, the requirement to post information about benefits and “other compensation” can be met by including a general description of benefits with a link or hyperlink that leads to a more detailed description of the benefits.
For information on additional requirements of the Washington Pay Transparency Act, please see our previous blogpost and DLI’s Equal Pay and Opportunities Act ES.E.1 (wa.gov) guidance.
The legal issues impacting workplaces are ever changing (Employment Law in Motion!) and since publication, new or additional information not referenced in this blog post may be available.
This article is provided for informational purposes only—it does not constitute legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship between the firm and the reader. Readers should consult legal counsel before taking action relating to the subject matter of this article.
