On April 16, Washington State became the latest state to add a wage lien statute to their laws. The state legislature passed and Governor Inslee signed the bill, ensuring workers in Washington will no longer have their rights stripped from them.
In an op-ed written by the State’s Labor Committee chairs, legislators commented that their bill, S5355 would “give workers a new tool to get the pay they earned by allowing them to place a lien on the employer’s property.” They wrote that “essential workers” kept the state moving during the pandemic and that “low-wage workers – often women and people of color” are often the victims of wage theft, citing studies that “two-thirds of low-wage workers suffer wage theft.” The Washington’s legislators’ response “was to not just call them ‘essential’ but to treat them that way…with historic legislation to strengthen workplace protections, both during the pandemic and every day after.”
Why is it that in New York State, widely seen as one of the most progressive states in the nation, has denied this same protection to its workers for 7 years? According to the US Department of Labor, wage theft is depriving workers in New York State of up to $1 billion in wages every year. Studies have shown that here too, it impacts women and people of color at higher rates. However, such high levels of wage theft drag down wages for all workers in New York State.
Let’s not let New York State fall further behind. Let’s support workers who work hard for their wages, and become the next state to pass a wage lien law, A766/S2762.
PRESS CONTACT:
Sarah Ahn, SWEAT Coalition
(646) 409-8056, ahn.s81@gmail.com
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