New Washington law lets employees use property lien to secure unpaid wages

Governor Jay Inslee recently signed the Washington Wage Recovery Act (WRA) allowing employees to place a lien on their employers’ property to secure unpaid wages. You should become familiar with the new statute before it goes into effect on January 1, 2022. 

What changes

Washington joins several other states with broad wage lien provisions, including Indiana, Maryland, Tennessee, and Wisconsin. The WRA’s purpose is to provide employees with another tool to secure their unpaid wages.

Currently, Washington employees must wait until the resolution of a civil demand or lawsuit or a government agency investigation to receive payment of unpaid wages. With the WRA, they can now hold a security interest in their employers’ property while they wait for resolution.

Scope of wage claims subject to liens

Under the WRA, employees can obtain a wage lien on claims for any unpaid wages and other compensation, including “interest, statutory damages, liquidated damages, attorneys’ fees and costs, or statutory penalties that may be owed for violation of a local, state, or federal wage law.”

Employees cannot obtain a wage lien, however, based on claims for “vacation or severance pay, contributions to an employee benefit plan, or paid leave except paid leave that is statutorily mandated.”

Employees eligible to obtain wage liens