Red Robin $1.1M to $1.67M Pay Transparency Settlement for WA Job Seekers

This class action involves employment job seekers in Washington state who applied to Red Robin International Inc. for openings posted online (on Red Robin’s website or an authorized recruiting platform) between January 1, 2023, and June 12, 2026, and whose job posting did not include required pay information. Under Washington’s pay transparency requirements—commonly tied to laws like the Washington Equal Pay and Opportunities Act (RCW 49.58.110)—employers are generally expected to disclose wage scale or salary range, and also provide a general description of benefits and other compensation. The lawsuit alleged that Red Robin’s postings did not meet those legal requirements, affecting candidates’ ability to evaluate roles fairly and understand compensation expectations upfront. As a result, the settlement creates a potential pool of about 1,970 eligible claimants, with estimated payments of about $573.43 that could increase up to as much as $5,000 depending on how many people file valid claims. The lawsuit was filed to challenge what the plaintiff viewed as a systemic compliance problem in how pay information was presented during hiring, and its significance is that it turns a pay-disclosure requirement into an enforceable remedy through collective litigation. Red Robin agreed to settle for roughly $1.1 million to $1.67 million while denying wrongdoing, largely to avoid the cost and uncertainty of continued court proceedings. The agreement also reflects how these cases typically work: class members submit a claim using a unique ID and PIN, payments come from a net settlement fund after administration and legal costs (including attorneys’ fees and expenses) are deducted, and any amounts above the maximum individual payout are donated to the Legal Foundation of Washington, ensuring no claimant can exceed $5,000. Broader implications are closely tied to the wider industry trend toward pay transparency laws, which have expanded across multiple states and continue to reshape recruiting practices, job posting templates, and HR compliance processes. Similar wage-disclosure class actions have emerged nationwide as courts and regulators test whether employers are disclosing compensation in a timely, clear, and legally compliant way—particularly when postings are syndicated through third-party platforms or updated inconsistently across channels. In this case, eligible claimants must file by Sept. 25, 2026, and payments will be distributed only after final court approval and resolution of any appeals, meaning the practical impact for claimants ultimately depends on the timing of the court’s fairness determination in January 2027, after which the settlement administrator can issue checks to approved participants.