Home › Final paycheck letters › Washington
Washington sets its own deadline, its own penalty, and its own rule on unused vacation. Here is what the statute says, what it is worth to you, and where to file if the money never arrives.
When employment ends, whether by discharge or voluntary withdrawal, wages due must be paid at the end of the established pay period (RCW 49.48.010). Washington employers must also pay all wages due on the next regular payday, which for most is the end of that pay period.
Same rule on resignation: wages are due at the end of the established pay period in which you stopped working.
Accrued vacation is wages in Washington when the employer's policy or contract creates the right; the policy decides, and L&I treats earned vacation as payable at separation.
Commissions that are earned are wages under RCW 49.48.010; a written plan may set when a commission is earned but cannot retroactively forfeit it.
RCW 49.52.070: an employer that wilfully withholds wages is liable for twice the amount withheld, and RCW 49.48.030 adds reasonable attorney's fees to a successful claim. A genuine dispute over the amount defeats the doubling, so wilfulness is where these claims are usually fought.
On $2,000.00 of unpaid wages, a 2× provision would expose the employer to about $4,000.00 in total. Treat that number as leverage in the letter, not as a promise: a court or agency decides what is actually owed, and the penalty provisions usually require the employer to have acted wilfully or without good cause.
File with the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries — Employment Standards, which handles wage claims administratively, usually at no cost. The alternative is small claims court, where the limit for an individual in Washington is $10,000. Both routes go better with a dated written demand and a certified-mail receipt, because the first question either forum asks is when the employer knew.
When employment ends, whether by discharge or voluntary withdrawal, wages due must be paid at the end of the established pay period (RCW 49.48.010). Washington employers must also pay all wages due on the next regular payday, which for most is the end of that pay period.
Same rule on resignation: wages are due at the end of the established pay period in which you stopped working.
Accrued vacation is wages in Washington when the employer's policy or contract creates the right; the policy decides, and L&I treats earned vacation as payable at separation.
Two routes: file a wage claim with the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries — Employment Standards (https://lni.wa.gov/workers-rights/wages/), or sue in small claims court where an individual's claim limit is $10,000. A dated written demand sent first is what makes either route easier, because it fixes the date the employer was on notice.
Only official sources are used: the state labor agency, the statute itself, and where relevant the U.S. Department of Labor. Third-party summary sites are deliberately excluded because they disagree with each other on penalty formulas.
Reviewed 2026-11-03 · reviewed again every 90 days.
being fired · resigning · a layoff · unused PTO · unpaid commissions