Accel Schools Facing Class Action Lawsuit in Washington Over Allegedly Noncompliant Job Postings

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A proposed class action lawsuit claims Accel Schools LLC has violated Washington state law by failing to include requisite compensation details in job postings.

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According to the 10-page lawsuit, the public charter school management company has run afoul of Washington’s Equal Pay and Opportunities Act (EPOA), whose pay transparency provision requires employers to disclose in every job posting the wage scale, salary range and a description of all benefits and other compensation the hired applicant will receive.

The plaintiff, a Washington resident who applied for a job opening with the defendant in May 2024, says he expected the position’s pay rate to be disclosed at some point as he completed the application. However, Accel Schools did not publish the offered wage scale or salary range in the posting or during the application process, as required by law, the suit alleges.

As a result, the plaintiff was forced to complete the entire application process without learning the position’s pay rate, the case charges.

Per the complaint, compliance with the EPOA’s pay transparency requirements is especially critical in light of recent research that revealed extensive wage inequality in Washington, particularly with respect to women and other protected classes. As the filing tells it, the required compensation disclosures help applicants and employees achieve equal pay by supporting wage negotiations and discussions about salary.

The lawsuit contends that the defendant’s allegedly noncompliant job postings have, therefore, impeded the plaintiff’s ability to evaluate the position’s compensation or compare its pay rate to other openings in the job market.

What’s more, the man claims that Accel Schools has engaged in discriminatory hiring practices and perpetuated Washington’s “pervasive pay disparity” by failing to comply with the EPOA’s pay transparency provision.

The Accel Schools lawsuit looks to represent anyone who, since January 1, 2023, applied for a job opening with the company in Washington, where the job posting did not disclose a wage scale or salary range.

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