Statement of Purpose:
We, the residents, workers, and job seekers of the Greater Seattle Area, demand legislative action to ban and penalize the predatory corporate practice of listing "ghost jobs"—job advertisements for positions that are inactive, already filled, or that the employer has no immediate intention of hiring.
Deceptive job postings waste hundreds of collective hours for workers, distort regional economic and employment data, and place an unfair emotional and financial burden on job seekers. While Washington has led the nation in salary transparency, our current laws fail to protect workers from fake advertisements used solely for corporate data harvesting, speculative resume pooling, or artificial growth modeling.

Our Demands:

We urge our local and state representatives to introduce and pass the Deceptive Job Advertising and Accountability Act, requiring employers operating in Seattle and Washington State to:

1. Disclose Vacancy Status: Explicitly state whether a job advertisement is for an active, immediate vacancy or a speculative talent pool.
   Mandate "Fill Dates": Include an estimated timeline or expiration date for when the role is expected to be filled.
2. Enforce Prompt Removal: Remove or mark job listings as "filled/inactive" within 7 business days of an offer being accepted or a hiring freeze being initiated.
3. Establish Penalties: Implement civil penalties and fines for large employers found to be intentionally maintaining fraudulent or inactive job boards.