People who applied for a Washington-based Cosco Fire Protection job between January 1, 2023 and July 26, 2025, through a posting that did not list a pay range, will be paid automatically from the $332,000 Cosco Fire Protection job postings class action settlement; there is no claim form to file. The final approval hearing is set for December 18, 2026.
Current Status
There is no claim form: class members will be paid automatically if the court gives final approval. King County Superior Court preliminarily approved the $332,000 settlement on August 10, 2026, and the final approval hearing is scheduled for December 18, 2026. The deadline to opt out, object, or update a mailing address or payment choice online is October 23, 2026. No payment date had been announced as of September 29, 2026.Free settlement alerts
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What Changed Recently?
The settlement moved into its notice period after Judge Nikole E. Hecklinger signed the preliminary approval order on August 10, 2026. Notices have gone to class members, and the administrator, Simpluris, has opened the official settlement website with the notice, the settlement agreement, the approval order and the original complaint.The case, Shannon Spencer v. Cosco Fire Protection, Inc., was filed in July 2025. The named plaintiff alleged that Cosco’s job postings for Washington positions left out the wage scale or salary range and a general description of benefits, which Washington’s Equal Pay and Opportunities Act has required in every job posting by employers with 15 or more employees since January 1, 2023. Cosco denies the claims, says it did not break the law, and admits no wrongdoing by settling. The court has not decided who was right.
Who Qualifies?
The settlement class is everyone who, from January 1, 2023 through July 26, 2025, applied for a Washington-based job opening with Cosco Fire Protection, Inc. through a posting on Cosco’s own website or on Indeed, where the posting did not disclose a wage scale or salary range for the job. Cosco represented in the settlement agreement that 166 people fit that definition.What counts is where the job was, not where the applicant lived. Applications for openings in other states are not included. Class members were identified from Cosco’s records, and anyone in the class should have received a notice.
How Much Can You Get?
The settlement website estimates each class member’s payment at $1,264.46. Cosco is paying $332,000 in total. Before anything is divided, the fund covers attorneys’ fees of up to $99,600 (about 30%), up to $2,500 in litigation costs, a service award of up to $7,500 for the named plaintiff, and the administrator’s costs, all subject to court approval. What remains is split in equal shares; there are no tiers and no cap.Treat the figure as an estimate. If the court awards less than the requested fees, costs or service award, the difference goes back into the class fund, and the shares of anyone who opts out are reallocated to everyone else. Either would push individual payments up slightly.
What Proof or Notice ID Is Required?
None to get paid. There is no claim form, and no receipts, pay stubs or application records are needed. The notice includes a LoginID and PIN, which are used only on the settlement website to update a mailing address or switch from a paper check to a digital payment. Keep the notice in case the administrator needs to confirm your identity.What Is the Deadline?
October 23, 2026 is the deadline for every action in this settlement: requesting exclusion (the letter must be postmarked by that date), filing an objection with the court, and submitting an address update or payment selection online. The notice does not give a time of day or time zone for the online deadline, so it is safest to finish well before the end of the day.Class members who want to be paid do not need to meet any deadline, as long as the administrator has a mailing address that will reach them.
How Do You Take Action?
To be paid, do nothing, except make sure your mailing address is current. To choose digital payment or update an address, use the Address Update/Payment Selection form on the official Cosco Fire Protection settlement website with the LoginID and PIN from your notice.To opt out, which keeps your right to sue Cosco separately over the same postings but means no payment, mail a signed exclusion request to the administrator by the deadline. It must include your full name, address and a statement that you want to be excluded from the settlement; exclusions cannot be made by phone or email. To object instead, you must stay in the class and file a written objection with the court by October 23, 2026, also sending copies to class counsel and Cosco’s attorneys. The notice lists everything an objection must contain and where to send it.
What Happens Next?
The court will decide whether to grant final approval at the December 18, 2026 hearing, which is set for 8:30 a.m. before Judge Hecklinger and can be attended in person or by Zoom. The hearing date can change; any change will be posted on the settlement website.If the settlement is approved and there is no appeal, the agreement’s timetable has the settlement take effect 31 days after the final approval order, Cosco fund it within 30 days after that, and the administrator send payments within 14 days of funding. An appeal would delay all of that. Payments must be cashed within 180 days of issue.
For other employers facing the same kind of claim, the Washington job posting settlements tracker lists every open pay transparency settlement.
Sources and Verification
• Official settlement website, Shannon Spencer v. Cosco Fire Protection, Inc. — estimated payment, deadlines and hearing details.• Notice of Class Action Settlement — class definition, options and objection requirements.
• Settlement Agreement — fund, fee and service award amounts, class size, payment timetable, and unclaimed funds.
• Order Granting Preliminary Approval (King County Superior Court, signed August 10, 2026) — sets the December 18, 2026 final approval hearing.
• Class Action Complaint, No. 25-2-21171-1 KNT (filed July 21, 2025) — the original allegations.
• RCW 49.58.110 — Washington’s job posting pay transparency requirement.
Questions
Do I have to do anything to get paid?
No claim form is required. Class members are identified from Cosco Fire Protection’s application records, and anyone who does not opt out is sent a payment if the court grants final approval. The one thing to check is that the administrator has a current mailing address. Class members who prefer a digital payment to a paper check can choose one on the settlement website with the LoginID and PIN printed on their notice by October 23, 2026.
I applied for a Cosco job outside Washington. Am I included?
No. The class covers applications for Washington-based job openings only, made through Cosco’s own website or Indeed between January 1, 2023 and July 26, 2025, where the posting did not list a wage scale or salary range. Applications for positions in other states are outside the settlement.
The lawsuit asked for $5,000 per applicant. Why is the estimate about $1,264?
The complaint sought the $5,000 in statutory damages per applicant that Washington’s pay transparency law allows. A settlement is a compromise that avoids the risk of losing at trial, and Cosco agreed to pay $332,000 in total. After court-approved attorneys’ fees and costs, the named plaintiff’s service award and administration costs, the rest is divided equally among the roughly 166 class members, which the settlement website estimates at $1,264.46 each.
Could the payment amount change before checks go out?
Yes, somewhat. The estimate assumes the court awards the fees, costs and service award that will be requested. Under the settlement agreement, any amount the court does not award is added back to the class fund, and the shares of anyone who opts out are reallocated to the remaining class members. Either would raise the per-person amount.
What happens if I do not cash my check?
Settlement checks expire 180 days after they are issued. Under the agreement, money from uncashed checks is sent to the State of Washington under its unclaimed property law in the class member’s name, so it can still be claimed from the state later. Money left over after that goes to the Legal Foundation of Washington.
