Wage Theft » Washington

Unpaid Wage Cases in Washington

Since 2005 the U.S. Department of Labor has found $76.3M in back wages owed to 63,716 Washington workers, in 2,268 cases, and assessed $9.5M in penalties. 239 cases involved child labor violations covering 686 minors.

$76.3MBack wages employers agreed to pay
63,716Workers owed back wages
2,268Cases with back wages

What workers weren't paid

Overtime not paid$50.1M (66%)
Prevailing wage on government contracts$13.3M (17%)
Other laws (farmworker, visa, leave and more)$6.6M (9%)
Below minimum wage$6.3M (8%)

Industries with the most back wages

Full-Service Restaurants$8.5M (11%)
Other Individual and Family Services$4.9M (6%)
Local Transit Systems$3.5M (5%)
Limited-Service Restaurants$3M (4%)
Data Processing, Hosting, and Related Services$2.5M (3%)
Other Residential Care Facilities$2.4M (3%)
Custom Computer Programming Services$1.7M (2%)
HMO Medical Centers$1.6M (2%)
Nuclear Electric Power Generation$1.5M (2%)
Engineering Services$1.4M (2%)

Cases with back wages by year

0100200300220200512720061302007137200810520099920101192011119201212320131712014852015892016892017812018782019101202084202162202251202326202417202592026

By city

CityBack wagesWorkersCases
Seattle$16.4M 11,908358
Walla Walla$5M 4,98315
Olympia$3.5M 1,26866
Tacoma$3.2M 2,743160
Bellevue$3M 1,71680
Redmond$2.2M 69137
Everett$2M 96553
Kent$1.9M 1,17465
Spokane$1.8M 2,566156
Lakewood$1.5M 1,50942
Bellingham$1.4M 39933
Auburn$1.3M 1,70827
Vancouver$1.2M 1,02870
Lynnwood$1.1M 45735
Silverdale$1M 53115
Kennewick$990K 92230
Bremerton$986K 80319
Puyallup$943K 68346
Richland$928K 50621
Snohomish$915K 39110
Monroe$848K 25610
Issaquah$843K 82526
Kirkland$810K 2,31831
Woodinville$781K 22522
Renton$668K 51734
Yakima$638K 74839
Pasco$621K 1,84923
Lacey$533K 14021
Marysville$492K 39216
Federal Way$474K 21331
Bothell$454K 27219
Wenatchee$381K 1,69011
Mount Vernon$381K 17710
Oak Harbor$265K 19314
Fife$259K 16210
Medical Lake$254K 12613
Arlington$239K 22810
Gig Harbor$216K 19419
Chehalis$176K 41515
Longview$169K 3711
Centralia$166K 22415
Kelso$165K 15812
Mukilteo$156K 5712
Port Orchard$140K 21411
Edmonds$99,606 14013
Sumner$82,631 19715

Cities with at least 10 cases with back wages.

Labor and employment lawyers in Washington

Lawbamba lists 4 labor and employment lawyers with an office in Washington, the practice area that deals with the wage theft cases on this page. These 4 come first in that listing (how the order is set).

Jeffrey R. Galloway
Etter, McMahon, Lamberson, Van Wert & Oreskovich, P.C.
Labor and Employment, Civil Litigation, Criminal Defense
Spokane
Patricia Ann Robert
Skellenger Bender, P.S.
Labor and Employment, Commercial Law, Civil Practice
Seattle
Rochelle Yvonne Nelson
Skellenger Bender, P.S.
Labor and Employment, Employment Discrimination and Related Litigation, Wage and Hour Law
Seattle
Deborah Lee Martin
Luvera Law Firm
Labor and Employment, Civil Litigation, Commercial Litigation
Seattle

Matched by practice area and office location only. These lawyers are not connected to the records on this page and have not reviewed or endorsed it.

Owed wages by a Washington employer?

Compare employment lawyers in Washington

← All states

Source: the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division enforcement data (every concluded compliance action since fiscal year 2005), from the DOL Open Data Portal, loaded November 9, 2026. “Back wages” is the amount employers agreed to pay workers after an investigation found they were underpaid; dates are the end of the period the investigation covered. Employer names and addresses are as DOL publishes them. Federal cases only: state labor departments and private lawsuits recover more that isn't counted here.

Lawbamba is not affiliated with the Department of Labor, and this page is general information, not legal advice.