Zales and Sterling Jewelers Job Posting Settlement: Who Qualifies, and by When
Washington requires employers to publish a wage scale or salary range in every job posting. A class action alleges Zale Delaware and Sterling Jewelers either left that out or advertised ranges starting below the state minimum wage. Claims close on September 28, 2026 — and unusually, the people owed money here are job applicants, not customers.
Claim Deadline: September 28, 2026
Claims, opt-outs and objections all fall on September 28, 2026; the Final Approval Hearing is set for October 23, 2026. To file you need the Login ID and PIN printed on the notice mailed to you — those tie your claim to the job application already on file, so there is no separate proof to dig up. Lost the notice? Contact Simpluris at info@ZDIClassActionSettlement.com or (833) 421-7315 rather than any third-party site.
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Reviewed by Leonard Goldberg, Editor · Last updated
What the Case Is About
Washington’s pay-transparency provision, RCW 49.58.110, requires employers with 15 or more employees to disclose a wage scale or salary range and a general description of benefits in each job posting. In the words of the court-authorised notice, the plaintiff "claims the Companies violated Washington law, RCW 49.58.110, when they allegedly did not disclose the wage scale, salary range, or benefits information on job postings for open Washington positions, or disclosed pay ranges in job postings that were below Washington’s annual minimum wage." The companies deny liability and the court has not decided who is right. What makes this settlement unusual is whom it compensates: not customers, but people who applied for a job and were shown a posting that broke the rule.
Case Details
Tyler Lynch v. Zale Delaware, Inc., Case No. 24-2-24820-0 SEA, Superior Court for the State of Washington, King County, before Judge John McHale. Administration by Simpluris (info@ZDIClassActionSettlement.com, 833-421-7315). Claim, opt-out and objection deadline September 28, 2026; Final Approval Hearing October 23, 2026.
Where the Case Stands
Two Classes, Not One
Both classes cover applications for Washington job openings with Zale Delaware, Inc. and/or Sterling Jewelers Inc. between January 1, 2023 and July 26, 2025; they differ in what the posting said. You may be in the Minimum Wage Settlement Class if the posting "disclosed a wage scale or salary range that started below Washington’s applicable annual minimum wage and/or the applicable annual minimum wage in the relevant jurisdiction in Washington" — several Washington cities set a minimum above the state figure, which is why the definition names both. You may be in the No Pay Settlement Class if the posting did not disclose the required wage or benefits information at all. Three conditions have to hold together: the opening was in Washington, the application fell inside that window, and the posting had one of those two defects. You do not have to work the last one out yourself — the administrator identified class members from the companies’ own application records and mailed each one a notice.
What You Would Receive
How This Case Got Here
- 1
2019 — Washington adds the disclosure duty
The state’s Equal Pay and Opportunities Act is amended; RCW 49.58.110 obliges employers with 15 or more employees to state a wage scale or salary range and describe benefits in the posting itself, not later in the process.
- 2
January 1, 2023 — the class period opens
Applications from this date onward fall inside the settlement, provided the posting was for a Washington opening with one of the two companies.
- 3
2024 — the lawsuit is filed
Tyler Lynch sues Zale Delaware, Inc. in King County Superior Court on behalf of himself and a class of similarly situated applicants, as Case No. 24-2-24820-0 SEA.
- 4
July 26, 2025 — the class period closes
Applications after this date are not covered, however similar the posting looked.
- 5
September 28, 2026 — the deadline
Claims, opt-outs and objections close. Class members who do nothing stay bound by the settlement and receive nothing.
- 6
October 23, 2026 — Final Approval Hearing
Judge McHale decides whether to approve the settlement and the requested fees and service award. Payment follows only after approval becomes final.
How to Tell the Real Claim From a Fake One
This settlement is easy to imitate, because a stranger emailing about a job you applied for two years ago is not, on its face, implausible. Three checks.
The real site is zdiclassactionsettlement.com and filing is free
No legitimate part of this process charges a fee or takes a percentage. The administrator is Simpluris, reachable at info@ZDIClassActionSettlement.com and (833) 421-7315.
Your Login ID and PIN come from the mailed notice, nowhere else
Anyone offering to supply credentials, or asking you to "verify" your Social Security number to release a payment, is not the administrator. The claim form asks for far less than an impostor will.
Nobody can tell you your amount before the hearing
Each valid claimant receives an equal share of a fund whose split depends on how many people file. Your own estimate is on your claim form; a figure quoted by a third party is not from a court document.
Questions People Actually Ask
How much will I get?
The court-authorised notice publishes no per-person amount. It says each valid claimant receives an equal share of the settlement fund, and that your individual estimate is printed on the Claim Form that arrived with your notice. Figures quoted elsewhere do not appear in any court document, and the final amount depends on how many people file.
I never got a notice. Can I still claim?
Contact the administrator at info@ZDIClassActionSettlement.com or (833) 421-7315. Claims are filed with a Login ID and PIN from the notice, so those credentials are what you need rather than separate documentary proof. If you applied in Washington during the class period and no notice reached you, the administrator is the right place to sort it out.
Do I have to prove I applied?
No separate evidence is required. The class was built from the companies’ own records of job applications, and the Login ID and PIN on your notice are what tie your claim to that record.
Can my employer hold this against me?
The notice addresses this with its own question on whether the companies may retaliate against participants. Washington law prohibits retaliation for exercising rights under the state’s wage statutes. If you now work for either company, participating is the exercise of a legal right rather than a complaint against your employer.
Is the payment taxable?
The notice states that "Settlement payments will be characterized as non-wage damages (1099)" — they are not treated as wages. Expect a 1099 rather than a W-2 adjustment, and ask a tax preparer how it fits your situation.
Why does a job posting break the law at all?
Washington’s rule exists so applicants can judge an opening before investing time in it, and so pay gaps become visible instead of being negotiated in the dark. It applies to employers with 15 or more employees and requires both a wage scale or salary range and a general description of benefits in the posting itself.
Separate from this case: were you injured in the last 2 years?
Class-action payouts are fixed amounts through an administrator. A personal injury claim is a different case — and often worth far more. Free estimate, no obligation.