LDS Church Accused of Systemic Pay Transparency Violations

A King County resident has filed a class action lawsuit against The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints alleging the religious institution systematically violated Washington state’s pay transparency laws.

📄 367620286 - CLASS ACTION COMPLAINT (1.82MB ∙ PDF file)

The complaint, filed in King County Superior Court on April 29, 2026, accuses the LDS Church and its Temple Corporation—which maintain local business offices in Seattle and Bellevue—of failing to disclose wage scales, salary ranges, and general benefits in local job postings.

Under Washington’s Equal Pay and Opportunities Act, which went into effect on January 1, 2023, employers with 15 or more employees must include this compensation information in all solicitations intended to recruit job applicants.

The lawsuit asserts that the Church employs more than 15 individuals and failed to comply with this mandate.

The Allegations

The plaintiff, Jennifer Easton, applied for a part time custodian position at the Seattle WA Temple via LinkedIn in July 2024.

According to the complaint, Easton expected to learn the salary range and benefits during the application process, but the LDS Church allegedly withheld the information in the posting and throughout the entire hiring process.

Because of this omission, Easton claims she was left in the dark—unable to evaluate the job’s pay against other available positions or adequately negotiate her starting salary, allegedly suffering both economic and non-economic harm as a result.

Additionally, the complaint alleges that Easton “lost valuable time applying to a position for which the posting did not disclose the wage scale.”

According to a copy of the job posting included as an exhibit in the filing, the role involves significant, heavy manual labor. Duties include operating mechanized equipment such as power washers, aerial lifts, balers, and forklifts.

The position also requires the physical capacity to independently lift up to 50 pounds and team-lift objects weighing up to 100 pounds.

Notably, the posting stipulates a strict religious requirement for the grueling work, stating that “[o]nly members of the Church who are worthy of a temple recommend qualify for employment.”

The Legal Landscape and Broader Impact

The class action carefully navigates recent changes to Washington employment law.

Effective July 27, 2025, the Legislature amended the EPOA, affording employers a brief window to correct violations arising out of any postings published between July 2025 and July 2027.

This lawsuit explicitly targets the window prior to this “cure” period, aiming to hold the institution accountable for older postings.

The lawsuit frames Easton’s individual experience within the much larger context of systemic wage inequality.

Transparency laws like the EPOA are explicitly designed to correct “information asymmetry” between powerful employers and everyday candidates. By forcing employers to publicly commit to a pay range, the law aims to help job candidates achieve equal pay and limit the role of unconscious bias in salary setting.

To underscore this impact, the complaint leverages the Washington Legislature’s own findings that “[l]ower starting salaries translate into lower pay, less family income, and more children and families in poverty.”

Furthermore, the filing points to a Duke Law Journal study indicating that Colorado’s similar 2021 pay transparency law resulted in a 3.6% increase in posted job salaries among compliant firms.

The complaint also notes sobering recent research showing that women in the Seattle area are paid just 78 cents for every dollar paid to men, representing a decline from a decade ago.

Potential Damages

Easton is bringing the suit on behalf of herself and other potential class members who applied for Washington-based job openings with the LDS Church between April 29, 2023, and July 26, 2025.

If these allegations are validated in court, the financial toll on the LDS Church could be substantial.

The plaintiffs are seeking statutory damages of $5,000 per class member, along with attorney’s fees, legal costs, pre- and post-judgment interest, and a declaratory judgment officially ruling the LDS Church’s hiring practices illegal under Washington law.