§ 14.19.110. Private right of action

A.

Effective April 1, 2016, for claims against employers that employ 50 or more employees and effective April 1, 2017 for claims against employers that employ fewer than 50 employees, any person or class of persons that suffers financial injury as a result of a violation of this Chapter 14.19 or is the subject of prohibited retaliation under Section 14.19.055, may bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction against the employer or other person violating this Chapter 14.19 and, upon prevailing, may be awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs and such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation including, without limitation, the payment of any unpaid wages plus interest due to the person and liquidated damages in an additional amount of up to twice the unpaid wages; and a penalty payable to any aggrieved party of up to $5000 if the aggrieved party was subject to prohibited retaliation. Interest shall accrue from the date the unpaid wages were first due at 12 percent per annum, or the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020.

B.

For purposes of determining employer size for this Section 14.19.110,

1.

An employee who is not covered by this Chapter 14.19 shall be included in any determination of the size of the employer.

2.

Employer size for the current calendar year will be calculated based upon the average number of employees who worked for compensation per calendar week during the preceding calendar year for any and all weeks during which at least one employee worked for compensation. For employers that did not have any employees during the previous calendar year, the employer schedule will be calculated based upon the average number of employees who worked for compensation per calendar week during the first 90 calendar days of the current year in which the employer engaged in business.

3.

All employees who worked for compensation shall be counted, including but not limited to:

a.

Employees who worked inside the City;

b.

Employees who worked outside the City; and

c.

Employees who worked in full-time employment, part-time employment, joint employment, temporary employment, or through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity.

4.

Separate entities that form an integrated enterprise shall be considered a single employer under this Chapter 14.19. Separate entities will be considered an integrated enterprise and a single employer under this Chapter 14.19 where a separate entity controls the operation of another entity. The factors to consider in making this assessment include, but are not limited to:

a.

Degree of interrelation between the operations of multiple entities;

b.

Degree to which the entities share common management;

c.

Centralized control of labor relations; and

d.

Degree of common ownership or financial control over the entities.

C.

For purposes of this Section 14.19.110, "Person" includes any entity a member of which has suffered financial injury or retaliation, or any other individual or entity acting on behalf of an aggrieved party that has suffered financial injury or retaliation.

D.

For purposes of determining membership within a class of persons entitled to bring an action under this Section 14.19.110, two or more employees are similarly situated if they:

1.

Are or were employed by the same employer or employers, whether concurrently or otherwise, at some point during the applicable statute of limitations period,

2.

Allege one or more violations that raise similar questions as to liability, and

3.

Seek similar forms of relief.

E.

For purposes of subsection 14.19.110.D, employees shall not be considered dissimilar solely because their:

1.

Claims seek damages that differ in amount, or

2.

Job titles or other means of classifying employees differ in ways that are unrelated to their claims.

(Ord. 124960 , § 65, 2015.)