Various laws, such as the Minimum Wage Act and Wage Payment Act (WPA), establish standards for payment of wages. Wages include compensation due to an employee by reason of employment. It is unlawful for an employer to deprive an employee of their wages. An individual owed unpaid wages may file a wage complaint with the Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) under the WPA, and L&I must investigate. Unless the complaint is otherwise resolved, L&I must issue either a citation and notice of assessment or a determination of compliance.
When L&I issues a citation and notice of assessment, it may order the employer to pay the employee all wages owed, including interest of 1 percent per month, calculated from the first date wages were owed. However, L&I may not order the payment of wages and interest that were owed more than three years before the filing date. The WPA has other provisions regarding civil penalties for willful violations, but does not have a provision allowing for collection of interest when a complaint is resolved before the issuance of a citation and notice of assessment.
The WPA is amended to allow L&I to demand all amounts owed, including interest of 1 percent per month, for all wage complaints filed on or after October 1, 2024. L&I may not waive or reduce any interest on amounts owed unless an employee expressly requests a waiver or reduction of interest.
L&I must convene a work group to develop and recommend strategies, by consensus, for eliminating wage theft and helping workers recover wages and be made whole as quickly and as fully as possible. The work group must identify options to enhance L&I's ability to provide swift relief to workers. Options the work group must explore include, but are not limited to:
For each recommendation, the work group must identify and address implementation issues and assess feasibility. The work group must include at least one representative from each of the following:
The work group must submit a report to the Legislature by September 1, 2024.