Employer Liability for Unpaid Contract Wages: WA State

Under Washington State law, may an employer pay an employee a lower wage than such employer is obligated to pay such employee by contract? Here’s my point of view (NOTE: please read our DISCLAIMER before proceeding).

THE BLACK LETTER LAW

The applicable law is under both RCW 49.52.050 and .070 — Rebates of wages and Civil liability for double damages, respectively. The relevant portions of RCW 49.52.050 state as follows:

Any employer or officer, vice principal or agent of any employer, whether said employer be in private business or an elected public official, who … (2) Willfully and with intent to deprive the employee of any part of his or her wages, shall pay any employee a lower wage than the wage such employer is obligated to pay such employee by any statute, ordinance, or contract…[s]hall be guilty of a misdemeanor.

Id. (emphasis added). The relevant portions of RCW 49.52.070 state as follows:

Any employer and any officer, vice principal or agent of any employer who shall violate any of the provisions of RCW 49.52.050(1) and (2) shall be liable in a civil action by the aggrieved employee or his or her assignee to judgment for twice the amount of the wages unlawfully rebated or withheld by way of exemplary damages, together with costs of suit and a reasonable sum for attorney’s fees: PROVIDED, HOWEVER, That the benefits of this section shall not be available to any employee who has knowingly submitted to such violations.

RCW 49.52.070 (emphasis and hyperlink added).

THE CASE LAW

But what does this all mean? In this case, the relevant subsection is RCW 49.52.050(2). The court in Clipse v. Commercial Driver Services, Inc., 189 Wn.App. 776, 358 P.3d 464 (Wash.App. Div. 2 2015) found that RCW 49.52.050(2) prohibits an employer from paying an employee a lower wage than the wage such employer is obligated to pay such employee by any statute, ordinance, or contract. Clipse, 189 Wn.App. at 776 (internal citation and quotation marks omitted) (emphasis added). The court went on to reason that RCW 49.52.070 creates civil liability, including double damages, costs, and attorney fees, for violations of RCW 49.52.050. Id.

CONCLUSION

Thus, depending on the circumstances of each case, an employer that willfully pays a lower wage than it’s obligated to pay under contract is taking a substantial risk; and, with few exceptions, may be found liable for double damages, costs, and attorney fees.

Learn More

If you would like to learn more, then consider contacting an experienced Washington State Employment Discrimination Attorney as soon as possible to discuss your case. Please note: the information contained in this article is not offered as legal advice and will not form an attorney-client relationship with either this author or Williams Law Group, PS; please see our DISCLAIMER.

–gw