This settlement resolves claims that job postings by Seawind Hotel Investment LLC, which operates the Quality Inn SeaTac near Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, left out the wage scale or salary range Washington law requires. If you applied for one of those Washington jobs between January 1, 2023 and July 26, 2025, you can file a claim by September 25, 2026 for an equal share of a fund set between $349,150 and $516,000.
Current Status
Claims are open. The deadline to submit a claim form is September 25, 2026, online or postmarked by that date. The same date is the deadline to opt out or to object. The court has not yet decided whether to approve the settlement: King County Superior Court granted preliminary approval on June 12, 2026, and the final approval hearing is set for January 8, 2027 at 9:00 a.m. before Judge Kristin Ballinger. No payments have been issued and no payment date has been announced — the Notice says checks go out after final approval and after any appeals and other reviews are complete. If you received a notice with a LoginID and PIN, the action to take now is to file before September 25.What Changed Recently?
The claim window opened this summer. King County Superior Court granted preliminary approval on June 12, 2026 and authorized the settlement administrator, Simpluris, to issue the notice and claim form to Class Members.The underlying case is Jessica Tipton v. Seawind Hotel Investment LLC, Case No. 25-2-11810-0 KNT, filed in King County Superior Court in Washington. The complaint alleges that the defendant violated RCW 49.58.110, the job-posting provision of Washington's Equal Pay and Opportunities Act, by running postings for open positions that did not disclose the wage scale or salary range and did not give a general description of the benefits or other compensation being offered. That statute requires employers with 15 or more employees to include pay and benefit information in job advertisements.
Seawind Hotel Investment denies the allegations and denies that it is or can be held liable for the claims in the lawsuit, and contends the claims are without merit and not suitable for a class action. The Notice states the court has made no determination on the merits and has not decided whether the defendant violated the law, and that the settlement is not an admission of wrongdoing. The parties agreed to settle to avoid the uncertainty, risk, and expense of continued litigation.
Who Qualifies?
The settlement class covers everyone who, from January 1, 2023 through July 26, 2025, completed an application for employment for a job opening in the State of Washington with Seawind Hotel Investment LLC through a job posting published on the company's website or an authorized third-party recruiting platform, where the posting did not include a wage scale, salary range, or fixed wage.Three parts of that definition do the work. The job opening had to be in Washington. You had to have completed an application, not merely viewed the listing. And the posting itself had to be one that omitted the pay information — which is why membership comes from the company's application records rather than from anyone who says they applied.
You did not need to be hired, interviewed, or contacted. The claim is about the posting, not the outcome of your application, and it does not require that you ever worked at the hotel. The Notice says the defendant's records identify Class Members, so the practical test is whether a notice was mailed to you. If you are unsure, the settlement website's contact page is the route to ask the administrator.
How Much Can You Get?
The settlement is built on a range rather than a single number. The Notice describes a Minimum Settlement Fund of $349,150 and a Maximum Settlement Fund of $516,000. Everyone who submits a timely, valid claim receives an equal share of the Class Fund — the amount left after the court-approved deductions described below. There are no tiers and no documented-loss category; every valid claim is worth the same as every other one.The Notice does not publish a single site-wide estimate. Instead, it states that your estimated payment amount is printed on the Claim Form mailed to you with the Notice, and the notice cover page frames it as an estimated payment of at least that figure. Because the fund is divided among however many people actually file, a lower claim rate means larger individual shares. Treat the number on your Claim Form as an estimate rather than a guaranteed amount.
Three deductions come out of the fund before it is divided. Class Counsel will ask the court to approve up to $154,800 in attorneys' fees, plus $2,500 in costs and expenses. Class Counsel will also request a $10,000 service award for the class representative. The defendant has agreed not to oppose those requests, but the court decides the amounts and may award less than what is requested. Whether the settlement is finally approved does not depend on how the court rules on fees or the service award.
Payments are made by mailed check. The Notice states that all checks expire and become void 121 days after the date of issuance, and it asks Class Members to tell the administrator about any address or phone number change so the check reaches them.
What Proof or Notice ID Is Required?
No receipts, pay stubs, or application records are required — but proof is still required in the sense that matters. Filing online requires a LoginID and a PIN, both printed on the notice mailed to you. Under OCA's standard, an administrator-issued credential that gates the claim counts as proof, because a person who never received the notice or no longer has it cannot file without first contacting the administrator.The claim form itself asks for identity and contact information rather than evidence of loss. All claims are subject to a verification process, and the Notice says the administrator may request additional information before treating a claim as valid.
If you cannot locate your LoginID and PIN, the settlement website's contact page explains how to ask the administrator to retrieve them; the request has to include your full name and mailing address. A paper claim form can also be returned by mail instead of using the online portal.
What Is the Deadline?
September 25, 2026 governs all three options, which is unusual — on most settlements the opt-out and objection deadlines land well before the claim deadline.Claim forms must be submitted online, or mailed and postmarked, on or before September 25, 2026. The Notice gives only the date, with no cutoff time or timezone for online submissions, so treat the date itself as the limit.
Requests for exclusion must be mailed to the administrator and postmarked no later than September 25, 2026. The Notice is specific that you cannot opt out by phone or email, that each person must submit their own request, and that group requests are not permitted. A valid request needs your full name, your address, a statement that you want to be excluded from the settlement in this case, and your signature and the date signed.
Objections must be filed with King County Superior Court by September 25, 2026, with copies mailed to both Class Counsel and the defendant's counsel, postmarked by the same date. A valid objection has to include your contact information, the case name and number, your reasons for objecting, your attorney's name and address if you have one, whether you or your attorney intend to appear at the hearing, and your signature and date. An objector represented by an attorney may file through the court's e-filing system.
How Do You Take Action?
File online at the official settlement website, SHISettlement.com, using the LoginID and PIN from your notice. The claim form can also be completed on paper and returned to the administrator by mail; the administrator can supply a copy on request through the site's contact page.The Notice, claim form, settlement agreement, and court filings are posted on the settlement website's Important Documents page. Paragraph 18 of the Settlement Agreement is the release, and it is broad: it covers the claims in the complaint and claims that could have been asserted on the same facts, including any claim arising out of the job-posting and pay-transparency requirements of the Equal Pay and Opportunities Act and any attendant claim for interest, liquidated damages, statutory damages, or fees. Staying in the class means giving those up, whether or not you file a claim.
One point worth knowing before you decide: doing nothing is the worst of the three options. You stay bound by the release either way, so a Class Member who never files gives up the claims and receives nothing for them.
What Happens Next?
The next milestone is the final approval hearing on January 8, 2027 at 9:00 a.m. before Judge Kristin Ballinger at the Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent, Washington. At the hearing the court will decide whether the settlement is fair, reasonable, adequate, and in the best interests of the class, and will rule on the fee, cost, and service-award requests along with any objections.The Notice cautions that the hearing date and time may change by court order, and that any change will be posted on the settlement website or reflected on the court's public docket. Attending is optional — Class Counsel will answer the court's questions, a timely written objection is considered whether or not you appear, and a Class Member who stays in the class may ask the court for permission to speak.
If the court approves the settlement, it will enter a final judgment dismissing the lawsuit with prejudice, and checks go to Class Members with valid claims after any appeals and other reviews are complete. No payment date has been announced.
Sources and Verification
This page is based on the official settlement website and the court-authorized Notice of Class Action Settlement and claim form in Jessica Tipton v. Seawind Hotel Investment LLC, Case No. 25-2-11810-0 KNT, King County Superior Court, Washington.- Official settlement website — SHI Settlement (claim portal, FAQs, important dates)
- Important Documents (Notice, Claim Form, Settlement Agreement, court filings)
- Official settlement FAQs
- Notice of Class Action Settlement, authorized by the court's June 12, 2026 preliminary approval order (embedded below)
Washington has produced a steady run of these cases. See our tracker of Washington job-posting pay transparency settlements, our roundup of open class action settlements, or the explainer on wage and hour class actions.
Questions
Why does the Notice say the fund is between $349,150 and $516,000 instead of one number?
The Notice describes a Minimum Settlement Fund of $349,150 and a Maximum Settlement Fund of $516,000. Settlements structured this way tie the amount the defendant actually pays to how many Class Members file valid claims, with a floor the defendant owes regardless. The Notice does not publish a claim-rate formula, so the exact figure between those two numbers will not be known until the claim period closes and the administrator finishes verifying claims.
Where do I find my estimated payment amount?
The Notice states that your estimated payment amount is printed on the Claim Form mailed to you with the Notice. There is no single published per-person figure for this settlement, because everyone who files a timely, valid claim receives an equal share of the Class Fund and the final share depends on how many people file. Treat the number on your Claim Form as an estimate rather than a guaranteed amount.
Could filing a claim affect a future job application with the hotel?
The Notice addresses this directly. It states that the defendant supports the settlement and will not retaliate in any way against any Settlement Class Member for participating, and that your decision to participate, not participate, or object will not affect any application for employment or how you are treated as a prospective, current, or former employee.
I applied for a job at the Quality Inn SeaTac but never received a notice. Am I in the class?
Class membership is drawn from the defendant's own application records, and the Notice says you received one because those records show you applied for a Washington job opening during the class period through a posting that arguably omitted the required pay information. Filing online requires a LoginID and PIN printed on that notice, so someone who never received one cannot file with just a name and address. The settlement website's contact page is the route to ask the administrator to confirm your status or look up your credentials.
The claim, opt-out, and objection deadlines are all September 25, 2026. What is the difference?
Filing a claim is how you get paid and keeps you in the class. Opting out removes you from the class entirely: you receive nothing, but you keep any right to sue over the same claims. Objecting keeps you in the class and tells the court you disagree with part of the settlement. You cannot both opt out and object, because a person who leaves the class no longer has standing to object.
How long will I have to cash the settlement check?
The Notice states that all checks expire and become void 121 days after the date of issuance. Because checks are mailed only after final approval and after any appeals are resolved, the Notice also asks Class Members to tell the administrator about any address or phone number change so the check reaches the right place.
