This bill amends existing law (RCW 49.58.110) to require employers with 15 or more employees to include the wage scale or salary range (or a fixed wage amount if only a fixed amount is offered) and a general description of benefits and other compensation in every job posting. The amendment also requires employers, upon request, to provide the wage scale or salary range (or fixed amount) when offering an internal transfer or promotion. The term "posting" is defined to include direct or third-party solicitations intended to recruit applicants, but excludes solicitations that are digitally replicated and published without the employer’s consent. The bill creates new procedural requirements and enforcement mechanisms rather than a criminal offense. It gives any person the right to provide written notice of an alleged posting violation; that notice is adequate for the life of the posting and allows the employer five business days to correct the posting (and, if applicable, demand correction from a third-party posting entity) to avoid penalties or damages. The Department director must investigate complaints, attempt conciliation, and may issue citations, order statutory damages of $100–$5,000 per violation, assess civil penalties (up to $500 for a first violation and up to $1,000 for repeats), order payment of departmental costs, and provide other remedies for violations. The department may adopt rules to implement the section. The bill also creates a private civil action available to applicants or employees within three years of an alleged violation, with prevailing parties eligible for statutory damages ($100–$5,000 per violation), attorneys’ fees and costs, and, where applicable, actual damages, reinstatement, and injunctive relief. Filing a civil action stops the department’s processing of the complaint and a person may recover either through the department or the courts, but not both; the administrative remedies and private right of action in this section are declared exclusive (remedies under RCW 49.58.060 and 49.58.070 are not available). Civil penalties collected under this section are deposited in the supplemental pension fund under RCW 51.44.033. The extracted text shows removal of a prior time-limited clause and does not specify an effective date or other related statutory changes, so those details are unclear from the provided material.

If enacted, employers with 15 or more employees will have to include a wage scale or salary range (or a fixed wage if that's all offered) and a general description of benefits and other compensation in every job posting and must give that wage information when offering internal transfers or promotions on request. Employers will need a process to respond quickly to written notices of noncompliance—correcting a posting within five business days and, when a third party posted the job, contacting that third party to demand correction—to avoid fines or damages. Job seekers and current employees gain clearer pay information and can file complaints with the department or sue within three years; either path can lead to statutory damages ($100–$5,000 per violation), recovery of attorneys’ fees, and civil penalties (up to $500 for a first violation, $1,000 for repeats), with collected penalties going to the state supplemental pension fund. The bill increases administrative and legal risk and potential costs for covered employers, and gives the department investigatory and enforcement responsibilities; the effective date and some prior time-limited language changes are not specified in the provided text, so timing and transitional details are unclear.