Washington AG launches new ‘Worker Rights Unit’ to combat wage theft
Washington is positioning itself as a front-runner in safeguarding workers amid an erosion of federal workplace protections.
Attorney General Nick Brown announced Thursday a new “Worker Rights Unit” within his office. The aim? To combat wage theft and sustain the state’s “nation-leading worker protections.”
Workers nationwide may be losing out on more than $50 billion a year because of wage theft, according to the Economic Policy Institute. But the Worker Rights Unit seeks to bolster working Washingtonians amid an affordability crisis and mounting challenges to keeping decent jobs, according to the AG’s office.
“This unit will fight to even the playing field for Washington workers and hold corporations accountable that exploit their workers,” Brown said in a Nov. 13 news release.
Brown’s office says that the federal administration has defunded and rendered ineffectual the enforcement of wage laws, slashed 20% of staff in the U.S. Department of Labor, and nixed minimum-wage enforcement for federal contractors. This gives the signal to bad employers that they can exploit employees, per Brown.
Washington is home to the second-highest minimum wage in the country and hosts strong worker protections, including against retaliation and pregnancy-related discrimination, as noted in the release. It also has paid overtime requirements for all employees, including laborers in the agriculture sector.
Heading into the 2026 session, Brown’s office will consult with lawmakers on ideas to add immigrant-worker protections and ways to make AG investigations more efficient.
Last month the Washington State Standard reported that Brown is pushing for legislation to safeguard Washington’s workers from immigration raids under the mass-deportation efforts of President Donald Trump’s administration.
The new Worker Rights Unit will work alongside the Seattle City Office of Labor Standards and the state’s Department of Labor & Industries. An emphasis will be placed on instances of moderate- and low-income workers worried about using the L&I complaint process because of fear of retaliation.
Types of wage theft include workers not being allowed to take mandatory breaks or lunch, not receiving earned tips, and getting paid less than the minimum wage. Women, people of color and immigrants tend to be disproportionately affected.
More than a dozen other state attorneys general have similar units centered on worker-rights affirmative litigation, Brown’s office says.
Heather Kurtenbach, executive secretary of the Washington State Building and Construction Trades Council, said in a statement that the construction industry is particularly prone to cases of wage theft. Washington construction workers are projected to miss out on $142.6 million in annual unpaid wages because of the “underground economy.”
“The Attorney General’s Office has been a great partner working to hold scofflaw employers accountable,” Kurtenbach said. “We are incredibly excited to work collaboratively with the new Worker Rights Unit to further combat wage theft and protect workers.”
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