Published
October 1, 2026
Current and former Swire Coca-Cola employees who worked in Washington and earned less than twice the state minimum hourly wage between September 9, 2022 and March 10, 2026 will be paid automatically from Swire Pacific Holdings' records in the $2,003,000 Swire Coca-Cola non-compete class action settlement; there is no claim form to file. November 2, 2026 is the deadline to opt out, object or choose a digital payment.
Current Status
There is no claim form. Swire's own records identify the roughly 2,003 class members, and each one who stays in the settlement receives an equal share, which the Notice estimates at $672.54. King County Superior Court granted preliminary approval on August 10, 2026, and the final approval hearing is set for November 13, 2026 at 11:30 a.m. As of October 1, 2026, no final approval order had been entered and no payment date had been announced. November 2, 2026 is the deadline to exclude yourself, to object, and to switch from a paper check to a digital payment.Free settlement alerts
Get notified when new class actions open to claims
Join thousands of readers who get the latest class action settlements you may qualify for — delivered straight to your inbox.
Status
Pending Final Approval
Fairness hearing November 13, 2026
Opt-Out / Object By
November 2, 2026
Also the deadline to choose a digital payment · do nothing to stay in and be paid
Estimated Payout
$672.54
Notice estimate · equal share for every class member · $2,003,000 fund
Proof Required
Automatic Payment
No claim form — the Login ID and PIN on the Notice are only for changing your address or payment method
What Changed Recently?
The notice period is underway. On August 10, 2026, King County Superior Court preliminarily approved the settlement and authorized the Settlement Administrator, Simpluris, Inc., to mail and email the court-approved Notice to everyone on the class list. The official settlement website, SettlementSPHI.com, now carries the Notice, the settlement agreement, the complaint and an online portal for address and payment changes.The case is Braithwaite et al. v. Swire Pacific Holdings Inc., Case No. 25-2-26285-5 SEA, before Judge Rania Rampersad. It was filed on September 9, 2025 by a former Washington employee, and a current employee was later added as a second named plaintiff. Swire Pacific Holdings, Inc., which did business as Swire Coca-Cola, USA and is now known as Swire Coca-Cola, USA Inc., bottles and distributes Coca-Cola and other beverage brands across a group of western states, according to the complaint.
The complaint claims Swire violated RCW 49.62.070, the provision of Washington's Noncompetition Covenants Act that bars employers from restricting low-wage employees — those earning less than twice the applicable state minimum hourly wage — from holding an additional job, working for another employer, working as an independent contractor or being self-employed. It points to a line in Swire's Corporate Code of Conduct that, the complaint says, prohibits working for a non-Swire company while employed by Swire. The complaint asked for $5,000 in statutory damages for each class member under RCW 49.62.080.
Swire denies the allegations, denies that it is or can be held liable, and denies that the claims are appropriate for a class action. The Notice states that the Court has made no determination on the merits and has not decided whether Swire violated the law. Swire made a business decision to settle to avoid the time, cost and risk of continued litigation, and the settlement is not an admission of wrongdoing.
Who Qualifies?
The Settlement Class is every current and former employee of Swire Pacific Holdings, Inc. who worked in Washington and earned less than twice the applicable state minimum hourly wage at any point from September 9, 2022 through March 10, 2026.The pay cutoff moved each year with Washington's minimum wage. The Notice lists the hourly thresholds as $28.98 in 2022, $31.48 in 2023, $32.56 in 2024, $33.32 in 2025 and $34.26 in 2026. Earning under the figure for the year you worked is what places you in the class. You did not need to have taken a second job, or to have been told you could not.
Membership comes from Swire's payroll records, so a mailed or emailed Notice is the practical sign that you are in the class. The settlement agreement puts the class at approximately 2,003 people. If you believe you were left off the list, the agreement gives class members 45 days from the mailing of the Notice to raise the dispute with the Settlement Administrator, which decides it from Swire's records and any employment documents you provide. Contact the administrator through the official settlement website.
How Much Can You Get?
The Notice estimates each payment at $672.54. Every class member who does not exclude themselves receives the same amount: there are no tiers, no adjustment for how long you worked, and no documented-loss category.Swire agreed to pay a Common Fund of $2,003,000 — roughly $1,000 for each of the 2,003 class members it identified. The Class Fund that is divided equally is what remains after these deductions:
• Attorneys' fees for Class Counsel, Emery Reddy, PC, requested at $600,900, or 30% of the fund.
• Litigation costs and expenses of up to $10,000.
• Service awards of $20,000 for each of the two class representatives.
• Settlement administration costs, capped at $25,000.
Swire has agreed not to oppose the fee and service-award requests, but the Court sets the final amounts and may award less. Any amount not awarded, and any unused administration money, goes back into the Class Fund and is divided among class members, so the $672.54 figure can move in either direction once the Court rules.
Two further provisions can change the fund itself. If the class turns out to be at least 7.5% larger than the 2,003 people Swire reported, class counsel may void the settlement unless Swire raises the fund proportionally, by about $1,000 for each added person. And Swire may void the settlement if more than 7.5% of class members opt out.
What Proof or Claim Form Is Required?
None. There is no claim form, no receipt, and nothing to prove about your employment. Payment is automatic for everyone on the class list who does not exclude themselves.The Notice carries a Login ID and PIN, but they do not gate the payment. They open the settlement website's portal for two optional changes: updating your mailing address, and switching your payment from a paper check to a digital payment. If you have moved since you left Swire, updating your address matters — the Notice warns that a class member whose current address the administrator does not have may not receive a payment. You can also return the Address Update Form that came with the Notice. If you no longer have your Login ID and PIN, the settlement website explains how to request them from the administrator.
What Is the Deadline?
There is no claim deadline, because there is no claim. Three deadlines fall on November 2, 2026:• Payment selection. Use the online portal by November 2, 2026 to choose a digital payment instead of a check. Do nothing and a check is mailed to the address on file.
• Exclusion. Mail a written request to the Settlement Administrator, postmarked no later than November 2, 2026, with your full name, your address, a statement that you want to be excluded from the settlement in Braithwaite et al. v. Swire Pacific Holdings Inc., and your signature and the date. Exclusion cannot be done by phone or email, and each person must send their own request.
• Objection. File a written objection with King County Superior Court by November 2, 2026, and mail copies to Class Counsel and to Swire's counsel postmarked by the same date. The Notice lists what the objection must include, among them your contact information, the case name and number, your reasons, whether you plan to appear at the hearing, and a three-year history of any other class settlement objections filed by you or your attorney.
The Notice gives dates without a timezone. Excluding yourself and objecting cannot be combined: an excluded person is no longer in the case and has nothing to object to.
How Do You Take Action?
For most class members, the only steps are to make sure the administrator has a current address and, optionally, to pick a digital payment. Both are done through the official settlement website using the Login ID and PIN on your Notice. The same site posts the Notice, the settlement agreement, the important dates and any change the Court makes to the hearing.To keep the right to sue Swire separately over these claims, you can exclude yourself by the November 2 postmark deadline, which also gives up the payment. To stay in but tell the Court you disagree with the settlement, the fee request or the service awards, file an objection by the same date.
The Notice also answers the question current employees tend to ask first: Swire fully supports the settlement and will not retaliate against any class member, and a decision to participate, not participate or object will not affect anyone's employment or treatment by the company.
What Happens Next?
Judge Rampersad will hold the final approval hearing on November 13, 2026 at 11:30 a.m. at the King County Superior Court's Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent, Washington. Remote attendance by Zoom is available; the link is printed in the Notice and on the settlement website. The Court will decide whether the settlement is fair, reasonable and adequate, hear any objections, and rule on the fee and service-award requests. A hearing taking place is not the same as approval being granted, and the date can change by court order.If the Court approves the settlement and no appeal is filed, the agreement's schedule has Swire fund the settlement about 30 days after the judgment becomes final, with payments going out about 14 days after that. That is a sequence, not a promised date — no payment date has been announced. Checks are void 180 days after they are issued, and uncashed money is turned over to the State of Washington's unclaimed property program in the class member's name.
Swire is not the first Washington employer to settle a claim under the second-job provision: the Big Al's non-compete settlement resolved a similar challenge to the family entertainment chain's outside-employment policy earlier in 2026. Washington employers have also been settling a separate wave of cases over job postings that leave out the pay range, such as the automatic-payment Scribd job postings settlement.
Sources and Verification
• Official settlement website: SettlementSPHI.com• Notice of Class Action Settlement, Braithwaite et al. v. Swire Pacific Holdings Inc., No. 25-2-26285-5 SEA, Superior Court of the State of Washington in and for the County of King (embedded below)
• Class Settlement Agreement and Release, Braithwaite v. Swire Pacific Holdings, Inc., posted on the official settlement website
• Class Action Complaint, filed September 9, 2025 in King County Superior Court
• Frequently Asked Questions and Address Update / Payment Selection pages on the official settlement website
Questions
Do I have to file a claim to get paid from the Swire Coca-Cola settlement?
No. There is no claim form. Swire's employment records identify the class, and everyone who does not exclude themselves receives an equal share automatically if the Court approves the settlement. Payments go out as paper checks unless you log in to the official settlement website by November 2, 2026 and choose a digital payment instead. The Notice also asks you to keep the Settlement Administrator updated with your current mailing address.
How much will each person get from the Swire Coca-Cola settlement?
The Notice estimates the payment at $672.54 per class member. Everyone who stays in the class receives the same amount. The figure is an estimate: it depends on the attorneys' fees, costs, service awards and administration costs the Court actually approves, and on the final number of class members, which Swire put at approximately 2,003.
Why does Washington law limit second-job rules for low-wage workers?
Since January 1, 2020, RCW 49.62.070 has barred employers from restricting, restraining or prohibiting an employee who earns less than twice the applicable state minimum hourly wage from having an additional job, working for another employer, working as an independent contractor or being self-employed. The lawsuit claims Swire's Corporate Code of Conduct imposed that kind of restriction. Swire denies liability, and the Court has not decided the question.
What happens to my payment if I never cash the check?
Settlement checks expire and become void 180 days after they are issued. Under the settlement agreement, money left uncashed after that period is sent to the State of Washington under its unclaimed property law, together with the class member's name. Digital payments sent through a service such as PayPal or Venmo expire after 30 days, but you can ask for the payment to be resent at any point during the 180-day period.
Can Swire retaliate against me for taking part in the settlement?
The Notice states that Swire fully supports the settlement and will not retaliate against any class member for participating, and that a decision to participate, not participate or object will not affect your employment or how you are treated as a current or former employee.
Official Settlement Notice
For more class actions keep scrolling below.
Settlement Amount
$2,003,000
Case Title
Braithwaite et al. v. Swire Pacific Holdings Inc.
Case Number
25-2-26285-5 SEA
Court
King County Superior Court, Washington
Final Approval Hearing
November 13, 2026 at 11:30 AM
Before Judge Rania Rampersad in Kent, WA · Zoom attendance available · date subject to change
Administrator
Simpluris, Inc.
Official Website
Settlement SPHI.com
