People who applied for a Washington job opening with Emerald City Pizza LLC between January 1, 2023 and September 2, 2026, through a posting that did not disclose a pay range and benefits, will be paid automatically from the $376,000 Emerald City Pizza job postings class action settlement; there is no claim form to file. The final approval hearing is set for January 29, 2027.
Current Status
There is no claim form: class members will be paid automatically if the court grants final approval. King County Superior Court preliminarily approved the $376,000 settlement on September 2, 2026, and the final approval hearing is scheduled for January 29, 2027. The deadline to opt out, object, or update a mailing address or payment choice online is November 23, 2026. No payment date had been announced as of October 6, 2026.Free settlement alerts
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What Changed Recently?
The settlement entered its notice period after Judge Michael K. Ryan of King County Superior Court preliminarily approved it on September 2, 2026. Notices have gone out to class members, and the administrator, Simpluris, has opened the official settlement website with the notice, the settlement agreement and an online address update and payment selection form.The case, Okyeremah Nyannor v. Emerald City Pizza LLC, was filed on May 14, 2024. The named plaintiff alleged that Emerald City Pizza’s postings for Washington jobs did not include the wage scale or salary range and a general description of benefits, which Washington’s Equal Pay and Opportunities Act (RCW 49.58.110) has required in job postings by employers with 15 or more employees since January 1, 2023. Emerald City Pizza denied the allegations in its answer and denies any liability or wrongdoing; the settlement is not an admission. The parties paused the case in July 2024 to negotiate, returned to discovery when those talks did not produce a deal, and reached agreement on the settlement terms in June 2026. The court has not decided which side was right.
Who Qualifies?
The settlement class is everyone who, from January 1, 2023 through September 2, 2026 (the date of preliminary approval), applied for a job opening in Washington with Emerald City Pizza LLC where the job posting did not disclose the wage scale or salary range and a general description of benefits and other compensation. Emerald City Pizza represented in the settlement agreement that 188 people fit that definition.The class is limited to applicants for Washington openings. Members were identified from Emerald City Pizza’s application records, and each should have received a notice by mail and email. Under the agreement, someone who believes they were left off the class list can dispute it with the administrator within 30 days of the notice mailing, and the company’s records control unless the applicant has documents showing otherwise.
How Much Can You Get?
The notice estimates each class member’s payment at $1,107.44. Emerald City Pizza is paying $376,000 in total. Before anything is divided, the fund covers requested attorneys’ fees of $112,800 (one-third of the fund), up to $5,000 in litigation costs, a requested $25,000 service award for the named plaintiff, and settlement administration costs capped at $25,000, all subject to court approval. The remainder is split in equal shares; there are no tiers.The figure is an estimate. If the court awards less than the requested fees, costs or service award, or administration costs come in under the cap, the difference is added back to the class fund, and the shares of anyone who opts out are reallocated to the remaining class members. If the class turns out to be larger than 188, the agreement adds $2,000 to the fund for each additional member.
What Proof or Notice ID Is Required?
None to get paid. There is no claim form, and no receipts, pay records or copies of job applications are needed. The notice includes a LoginID and PIN, which are used only on the settlement website to update a mailing address or to switch from a paper check to a digital payment such as PayPal or Venmo. Payment does not depend on using them.What Is the Deadline?
November 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.Class members who stay in the settlement do not have a deadline to meet in order to be paid, as long as the administrator has a mailing address that will reach them.
How Do You Take Action?
Payment goes out without any filing, to the mailing address the administrator has on record. The Address Update/Payment Selection form on the official Emerald City Pizza settlement website uses the LoginID and PIN from the notice to change an address or choose a digital payment.Opting out keeps a class member’s right to sue Emerald City Pizza separately over the same postings, but means no payment. An exclusion request is a signed letter mailed to the administrator, postmarked by November 23, 2026, with the person’s full name, address and a statement asking to be excluded; it cannot be made by phone or email, and group requests are not accepted. An objection is different: it requires staying in the class and filing a written objection with the court by the same date, with copies mailed to class counsel and Emerald City Pizza’s attorneys. The notice lists everything an objection must contain and where it goes.
What Happens Next?
The court will decide whether to grant final approval at the hearing on January 29, 2027 at 11:00 a.m. before Judge Ryan, at the Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent. The hearing can also be attended remotely by Zoom. The date and time can change by court order; any change will be posted on the settlement website.If the settlement is approved and there is no appeal, the agreement’s timetable has it take effect 31 days after the final approval order, Emerald City Pizza fund it within 30 days after that, and the administrator send payments within 14 days of funding. An appeal would delay each of those steps. Checks must be cashed within 180 days of issue.
Other Washington employers have settled the same kind of claim; the Washington job posting settlements tracker lists every open pay transparency settlement.
Sources and Verification
• Official settlement website, Okyeremah Nyannor v. Emerald City Pizza LLC — FAQs, deadlines, hearing details and the address update/payment selection form.• Notice of Class Action Settlement (King County Superior Court) — class definition, estimated payment, options and objection requirements.
• Class Action Settlement and Release Agreement, posted on the settlement website’s Important Documents page — fund, fee and service award amounts, class size, payment timetable, unclaimed and residual funds.
• RCW 49.58.110 — Washington’s job posting pay transparency requirement.
Questions
Is there a claim form for the Emerald City Pizza settlement?
No. Class members were identified from Emerald City Pizza LLC’s application records, and everyone who does not opt out is sent an equal payment if the court grants final approval. Payment depends on the administrator having a current mailing address. The LoginID and PIN printed on the notice are used only to update an address or choose a digital payment instead of a paper check on the settlement website, by November 23, 2026.
Why is the estimate about $1,107 when the law allows $5,000 per applicant?
Washington’s pay transparency law let an applicant seek $5,000 in statutory damages for a non-compliant posting, but a settlement is a compromise that ends the case without a trial. Emerald City Pizza agreed to pay $376,000 in total. Requested attorneys’ fees of $112,800, up to $5,000 in costs, a $25,000 service award for the named plaintiff and up to $25,000 in administration costs come out first, and the remainder is split equally among about 188 class members, which the notice estimates at $1,107.44 each.
What if more than 188 people turn out to be in the class?
Emerald City Pizza represented in the settlement agreement that the class has 188 members. If the count rises, the agreement adds $2,000 to the common fund for each additional class member, so new members do not simply dilute everyone else’s share.
Could the settlement fall apart?
It could in two situations described in the agreement. The court could decline to approve it, or Emerald City Pizza could choose to void it if more than 10% of class members opt out. A reduced award of attorneys’ fees or of the service award is not grounds to end the settlement; any amount the court does not award goes back to the class.
What happens to a settlement payment that is never cashed?
Checks are void 180 days after they are issued. PayPal or Venmo payments expire after 30 days, but a class member can ask for one to be re-sent during the 180-day period. Money still unclaimed after that is sent to the State of Washington’s unclaimed property program in the class member’s name, and anything left over goes to the Legal Foundation of Washington.
