The Zales and Sterling Jewelers Job Posting Settlement Goes Before a Judge on October 23 — 1,111 Washington Applicants, a Fund of $1.61 Million to $2.44 Million, and Notices Estimating $1,698.21 and $1,584.47 Each

The Sterling Jewelers job posting settlement is waiting on one event. The official site, ZDIClassActionSettlement.com, still says as of October 12, 2026: “The Court still has to decide whether to approve the Settlement. No Settlement benefits or payments will be provided unless the Court approves the Settlement, and it becomes final.” Judge John McHale holds the final approval hearing on October 23, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. in King County Superior Court, King County Courthouse, 516 Third Avenue, Courtroom W-965, Seattle, WA 98104; the official site posts a Zoom link for anyone who wants to watch remotely.

The claim, exclusion and objection deadlines all fell on September 28, 2026. If you sent a claim form by then, there is nothing more to do except keep your address current with the administrator. If you did not, the settlement agreement leaves one narrow door: a claim filed after the deadline “will be considered for a payment at the discretion of the Companies” — not a right, and not something to count on.

What is new since our August 26 overview of Washington job posting settlements is the money side. The settlement agreement and the two court-approved notices, all posted by the administrator, put numbers on what we then left open: the size of the fund, the size of the class, the fees, and the estimated check.

The case is unusually small. Under the agreement, “The Companies represent that there are approximately 1,111 total Settlement Class Members comprised of 444 No Pay Class Members and 667 Minimum Wage Class Members.” You are in the No Pay class if, between January 1, 2023 and July 26, 2025, you applied for a Washington job with Zale Delaware, Inc. and/or Sterling Jewelers Inc. and the posting “did not disclose a wage scale or salary range and/or a general description of benefits.” You are in the Minimum Wage class if the posting showed a range that “started below Washington’s applicable annual minimum wage.” The class list came from the companies’ own records; people on it received a notice with a Login ID and PIN.

The notices put a dollar figure on the first line. The No Pay notice: “You may be eligible for an estimated payment of $1,698.21.” The Minimum Wage notice: “an estimated payment of $1,584.47.” The site’s FAQ adds that your own estimate “is on the Claim Form you received with the Notice.” These are estimates; the final amount depends on how many people claimed and on what the judge awards in fees.

Some summaries say members can receive “up to $2,500” or “up to $2,000.” That is not how the agreement uses those numbers. They are the multipliers that set the ceiling of the fund — “(444 x $2,500) + (667 x $2,000) = $2,444,000” — and that ceiling includes fees and costs. The only per-person cap in the agreement is $5,000.

The fund floats with participation. If half the class or fewer claims — “approximately 556 Settlement Class Members” — the companies pay the minimum of $1,610,674.18. For every claimant above that line, the net fund grows by $1,700.56 for a No Pay member and $1,368.77 for a Minimum Wage member, up to the $2,444,000 maximum. If fewer than half claim, what is left of the minimum fund does not go back to the companies: half goes to the Legal Foundation of Washington and half to the Washington Employment Lawyers Association.

The FAQ is cautious: payments go out “after all appeals and other reviews, if any, are completed. Please be patient.” The agreement sets the clock. The settlement becomes final, if there were no objections, on the first business day after the 30-day appeal period. The companies then fund the settlement “within 21 calendar days of the Effective Date,” and the administrator distributes “within 7 days of the Funding Date.”

By our arithmetic, if Judge McHale grants final approval on October 23, 2026, nobody objected and nobody appeals, the 30 days end on Sunday, November 22, the settlement becomes final on November 23, 2026, funding is due by December 14 and payments by about December 21, 2026. That is a best case, not a promise: we could not see whether any objections were filed, and an objection or an appeal moves every date. Two other things can still stop the deal: the companies may walk away if more than 10 percent of the class opted out, and the judge may approve the settlement but cut the fees.

What you can do now:

• Keep your address current. The FAQ says “you must contact the Settlement Administrator if your address or phone number changes at any time.”
• Cash the check promptly. “All individual settlement payments will expire and become void 180 days after the date of issuance.”
• Expect a 1099. Payments are “non-wage damages (1099).” The agreement says a claimant may submit an IRS Form W-9 “to avoid initial tax withholdings” — send it only to the administrator below.
• No retaliation. The notice says the companies “will not retaliate in any way against any Settlement Class Member for participating,” including current employees and future applicants.

The only official site is ZDIClassActionSettlement.com, run by the court-appointed administrator, Simpluris, Inc. Its contact points are Lynch v. Zale Delaware, Inc., c/o Simpluris, P.O. Box 26170, Santa Ana, CA 92799; (833) 421-7315; info@ZDIClassActionSettlement.com. The notice itself says: “You are not being sued. This is not a solicitation from an attorney.”

Signs something is off: a message that asks for a fee to “release” your payment, a link to a site other than ZDIClassActionSettlement.com, or a request for your Social Security number by text or social media. The real process ran through a mailed or emailed notice with a personal Login ID and PIN; the general public could never file, because the class came from the companies’ applicant records. If you think you applied in the class period but never got a notice, call the administrator — not a number from an ad.

The fund is “inclusive of all settlement payments; attorneys’ fees, costs, and expenses; service award; and settlement administration costs.” Class counsel, Emery Reddy, PC, may ask for, and the companies will not oppose, “attorneys’ fees in the amount of $720,980 (approximately 29.5 percent of the Maximum Settlement Fund), plus $5,000 in costs.” The plaintiff may request a $20,000 service award, and Simpluris’ costs “shall not exceed $30,000.” Together, by our count, that is up to $775,980 off the top. Measured against the $2,444,000 maximum, the fee is the 29.5 percent the agreement names; measured against the minimum fund, the share is much larger — one more reason the judge’s ruling on fees matters to the size of each check.

The agreement also schedules a motion for final approval nine court days before the hearing. That filing normally reports how many people claimed and opted out. As of October 12, 2026, the official site lists only the complaint, the preliminary approval order, the settlement agreement and the two notices, so the claim count is not public. We will update when the court rules.

The lawsuit, filed on October 25, 2024, alleges violations of the pay transparency provision of the Washington Equal Pay and Opportunities Act, RCW 49.58.110, which requires covered job postings to show a pay scale or range and a general description of benefits. The companies “deny the allegations and contend they have not violated the law,” and the settlement is not an admission. The case was paused on January 17, 2025 while the Washington Supreme Court answered a certified question in Branson v. Washington Fine Wines & Spirits; the court answered on September 4, 2025, the parties signed the agreement in April 2026, and Judge McHale granted preliminary approval on June 17, 2026.

Does Sterling Jewelers own Jared? Jared is a brand of Signet Jewelers, and so are Kay and Zales. Signet’s annual report for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2026 lists its U.S. brands as “Kay (Kay Jewelers and Kay Outlet); Zales (Zales Jewelers and Zales Outlet); Jared (Jared Jewelers and Jared Vault),” among others, with 2,238 U.S. locations. Signet’s list of significant subsidiaries names both Sterling Jewelers Inc. and Zale Delaware, Inc. as Delaware companies. In short, Sterling and Zale Delaware are Signet subsidiaries, and Jared belongs to the same group; the filings we read do not say which subsidiary holds which brand.

Is Signet Jewelers closing stores in 2026? The same annual report says its real estate plans “will include the closure of underperforming stores” but gives no number in the passage we read. Store closings, the company’s finances and executive pay have nothing to do with this settlement, which covers only Washington job applicants. For company news, Signet’s own SEC filings are the source; this page cannot help with those questions.