Does your boss owe you money? 

Here’s a crazy fact for you to consider. According to the Seattle Times, since 2018, Washington state workers. have lost somewhere in the realm of $5.4 million. This is Money that these workers are owed but their bosses aren’t paying them. 

It’s called wage theft, basically employers not paying employees what they are legally owed. In Washington state, we’ve had more than 6,900 workers file complaints with the state Department of Labor and Industries. In 2023. 

It got me to thinking how would I feel if I worked an 8-hour day? Five days a week. And then my boss says, “hey, you know what, we’ve decided not to pay you this week.” I would not take that very well nor should I. There was a time in my life when I was living paycheck to paycheck, and if I did not get paid on time, I did not buy gas to get to work, I did not eat, I did not pay for the electrical bill, it was a serious thing. 

Now I was lucky that did not happen to me but that is not the case for a lot of these people. According to seattletimes.com,
“Wage theft is concentrated in low-wage industries — especially in restaurant and hospitality work — and disproportionately affects women, immigrants and people of color. Many workers don’t realize they’re experiencing wage theft because they don’t know the laws that protect them. 

If you feel that you are a victim of wage theft, please check out the links below. 

 KUOW – WA employees are owed $5.4M in stolen wages 

What is wage theft? Your guide to workers’ rights in WA | The Seattle Times 

Wage Theft Ordinance – Fact Sheets – OLS (seattle.gov) 

Your Right To Be Paid – Washington State Workers’ Rights Manual (rightsatworkwa.org)