Gap and Athleta Putative Class Action, Washington Hourly Workers Allege Missed Breaks and Unpaid Overtime (Case No. 26-2-33532-0 SEA)

If you worked hourly for Gap or Athleta in Washington: there is no settlement and no claim form. This is a new lawsuit, and nothing has been proven. Keep your pay and schedule records now, and read the section on what to save below.

An hourly employee has sued Athleta LLC, The Gap, Inc. and GPS Services, Inc. in Washington state court. The lawsuit alleges the companies denied hourly workers required rest and meal breaks and did not pay all wages owed, including overtime. It was filed October 13, 2026, in King County Superior Court as Case No. 26-2-33532-0 SEA.

It is a putative class action, which means the plaintiff is asking to represent a group but no judge has certified a class. The companies have not been found to have done anything wrong, and I found no public response from Gap, Athleta or GPS Services as of October 24, 2026.

Quick Facts: Gap and Athleta Washington Wage Lawsuit

Detail	Information
Defendants	Athleta LLC, The Gap, Inc. and GPS Services, Inc.
Court	Superior Court of Washington, King County
Case number	26-2-33532-0 SEA
Date filed	October 13, 2026
Case type	Putative class action (no class certified)
Plaintiff	An hourly employee (name not given in the coverage I reviewed)
Plaintiff’s attorneys	Douglas Han, Shunt Tatavos-Gharajeh and Ryan Crist of Justice Law Corporation
Main allegations	Missed rest and meal breaks, unpaid minimum wages and overtime, paid sick leave not accrued or usable, unreimbursed business expenses, unpaid final wages
Legal claims	Nine claims under Washington law and a Seattle wage theft ordinance
Proposed class	Hourly-paid or non-exempt employees in Washington, from three years before the complaint was filed until the case is resolved
Proposed subclass	Those who worked in Seattle
Relief sought	Compensatory and exemplary damages, double damages for willfully withheld wages, interest, attorneys’ fees and costs
Settlement or claim form	None

What Does the Gap and Athleta Lawsuit Allege?

According to the reporting on the complaint, the plaintiff says the companies followed a common pattern of wage and hour violations that affected hourly workers across Washington. The listed claims are:

• failing to provide a paid 10-minute rest break for every four hours worked and a 30-minute meal break for every five hours, and not paying extra for missed breaks
• not paying minimum wage for all hours worked
• not paying overtime when employees worked more than 40 hours in a week
• not accruing or allowing use of paid sick leave
• making workers cover employer expenses without reimbursement
• not paying all wages due when employment ended

How can a missed break turn into overtime?

This is the part of the case worth understanding. The plaintiff alleges that each time an hourly worker misses a rest break, the companies get 10 minutes of work for free. Those unpaid minutes, the complaint says, pushed some workweeks past 40 hours without time-and-a-half pay, and workers did not accrue sick leave for that time either. In other words, the case ties the missed breaks, the unpaid overtime and the sick leave claims together instead of treating them as separate problems.

None of this has been proven. A complaint states what the plaintiff claims. It is not a finding. I could not retrieve the complaint itself, so the allegations here come from published coverage of it, and the court filing should be checked as it becomes available.

What Are Washington’s Rest Break and Meal Period Rules?

The reported claims rest on Washington’s rest and meal period rule, Washington Administrative Code (WAC) 296-126-092. In summary:

• Rest breaks: at least 10 minutes, on the employer’s time, for each four hours of working time, scheduled as near as possible to the midpoint of the work period. No employee can be required to work more than three hours without a rest period.
• Meal periods: at least 30 minutes, starting between two and five hours into the shift. No employee can be required to work more than five consecutive hours without one. Meal periods are on the employer’s time if the employee must stay on duty. Employees who work three or more hours past a normal workday must get another 30-minute meal period.

The Washington Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) treats rest breaks as paid time that counts as hours worked. That is the bridge between a missed break and the overtime and sick leave claims in this case. Courts have also said an employer must make sure breaks actually happen, not just allow them on paper.

Washington does not use California’s automatic extra-hour premium for a missed break. Whether a missed break leads to money owed depends on the claim, including whether wages were left unpaid and whether work time pushed an employee past 40 hours. Read the rule on L&I’s rest breaks and meal periods page.

How Does Washington Overtime Law Apply?

Washington’s Minimum Wage Act generally requires employers to pay covered, non-exempt employees at least 1.5 times their regular rate for hours over 40 in a workweek. Time can be compensable even if it was never recorded, depending on the facts, and employees generally cannot waive overtime. Here is a simple illustration, not a finding about anyone: an employee paid for 38 hours who really worked 42 could be owed overtime for the two hours above 40, if the extra time was legally compensable and no exemption applies.

What About Paid Sick Leave, Expenses and Final Paychecks?

The complaint reportedly goes beyond breaks and overtime. It alleges:

• Paid sick leave: the companies did not properly accrue it or allow workers to use it.
• Expenses: workers had to pay for employer-related costs without reimbursement.
• Final pay: the companies did not pay all wages due when employment ended.

Whether any of these applied to a particular person depends on their own pay records and dates of work. The complaint does not establish that every employee, store or departing worker was affected.

What Is Seattle’s Wage Theft Ordinance?

The case also cites a Seattle wage theft ordinance, which fits the proposed Seattle subclass. Seattle’s Office of Labor Standards enforces it. The ordinance covers work performed in Seattle, so it does not automatically reach every Washington employee. A statewide class and a Seattle subclass are not necessarily the same group.

Who Could Be in the Proposed Gap and Athleta Class?

The plaintiff wants to represent all hourly-paid or non-exempt employees in Washington, from three years before the complaint was filed until the case is resolved, plus a subclass for those who worked in Seattle. Because the complaint was filed October 13, 2026, that points to a start date around October 13, 2023, but the complaint’s exact wording controls.

That is a proposal, not a ruling. A judge decides later whether to certify any class, and may change its scope.

What about Old Navy and Banana Republic employees? Gap Inc. owns Gap, Old Navy, Banana Republic and Athleta, but the defendants named are Athleta LLC, The Gap, Inc. and GPS Services, Inc. It is not clear from the reporting whether employees of other brands are in the proposed class. That likely depends on which legal entity employed them.

What Is the Plaintiff Asking the Court to Award?

The reported relief includes compensatory and exemplary damages, double damages for wages allegedly withheld willfully, interest, and attorneys’ fees and costs. These are requests, not awards. I found no total damages figure or per-worker amount, so no one should treat any payment as expected.

What Happens Next in the Gap and Athleta Case?

The case is at its earliest stage. The next visible steps are usually the defendants’ response to the complaint (including any effort to move the case to federal court or have claims dismissed) and, much later, a motion to certify a class. If a class is ever certified, notice would come through the court. If the case settles, a court would have to approve it, and the settlement terms would set out who qualifies and how to claim.

What Should Hourly Gap and Athleta Workers in Washington Do Now?

You do not need to file anything today. It is reasonable to start keeping lawful copies of your own records:

1. Pay stubs, wage statements and schedules, and any timekeeping screenshots you already have access to.
2. A note of how often you missed rest or meal breaks, and why.
3. Records of sick leave balances and requests.
4. Receipts and reimbursement requests for work expenses.
5. Your final pay statement if your job has ended.

Do not copy records you are not authorized to access. If you think you were underpaid, a Washington employment attorney or L&I can explain your options. Deadlines for individual wage claims depend on the legal theory, so do not assume a proposed class action protects your personal claim.

How Does This Lawsuit Compare With Other Washington Wage Cases?

This is one of several wage and hour cases involving Washington workers and large employers. See the Nordstrom Washington Wage Lawsuit, Were You Affected? — No. 26-2-23370-5 SEA, another retailer lawsuit over missed meal and rest breaks. For an example of how these cases can end, the Nature’s Path Foods USA $1.4M Meal and Rest Break Settlement, Washington Hourly Workers May Be Owed a Payment No Claim Form Required is a Washington settlement with its own terms. For cases beyond Washington, see Goodyear, Pizza Hut, 7-Eleven, and Campbell’s Are All Facing Wage and Hour Lawsuits Right Now. These are separate cases, and none of them decides the outcome here.

Frequently Asked Questions About the Gap and Athleta Washington Wage Lawsuit

Who filed the Gap and Athleta lawsuit?

An hourly employee filed it on October 13, 2026. The coverage I reviewed did not give the plaintiff’s name. Douglas Han, Shunt Tatavos-Gharajeh and Ryan Crist of Justice Law Corporation represent the plaintiff.

What is the Gap and Athleta lawsuit case number?

Case No. 26-2-33532-0 SEA, in the Superior Court of Washington, King County.

Has Gap responded to the lawsuit?

Not in anything I found as of October 24, 2026.

Is there a Gap or Athleta settlement I can claim money from?

No. No settlement has been announced, and no class has been certified.

Does the lawsuit cover Old Navy and Banana Republic workers?

It is unclear. The named defendants are Athleta LLC, The Gap, Inc. and GPS Services, Inc.

Have Gap or Athleta been found liable for wage theft?

No. The allegations are unproven.

How long do Washington workers have to bring a wage claim?

It depends on the claim. The proposed class reaches back three years from the filing date, but an individual claim has its own deadlines. Ask an employment attorney about your situation.

Sources

1. Top Class Actions: Gap, Athleta class action lawsuit claims employees denied breaks, overtime pay, October 23, 2026
2. Law360, “Gap Workers In Wash. Sue Over Unpaid OT, Missed Breaks,” October 16, 2026
3. Washington Administrative Code 296-126-092, Meal periods and rest periods
4. Washington L&I: Rest breaks, meal periods and schedules
5. Washington L&I: Overtime and exemptions
6. Seattle Office of Labor Standards: Wage Theft Ordinance

Disclaimer: This article is general legal information, not legal advice. AllAboutLawyer.com is not a law firm, and I am not an attorney. The lawsuit contains allegations, not findings.

Researched and written by Israr Ahmad, legal content researcher and founder of AllAboutLawyer.com. All facts about the lawsuit verified against Top Class Actions’ report on the complaint (October 23, 2026), as of October 24, 2026. The complaint itself was not independently retrieved. Last Updated: October 24, 2026.