The State of Washington

A lawsuit accused the State of Washington's government of paying unequal salaries to some workers and that the state unfairly offered different wages to workers who performed similar jobs in different areas of state government. The class action, that affected more than 9,000 present and former workers employed between October 1996 and June 30, 2005, has been settled for approximately $30 million. The state agreed to pay about $21 million in back pay and more than $9 million in salary equalization over five years. (Jul-12-06) [SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER]