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Questions about your rights at work? Between September 1 and May 1, the Workers’ Rights Clinic offers free consultations to workers. Schedule a no cost consultation. Once you fill out the form, it may take several days for us contact you for scheduling.
By offering this service, the Workers’ Rights Clinic is not committing to represent you in any particular matter.
Within the Ronald A. Peterson Law Clinic at Seattle University School of Law, the Workers' Rights Clinic is a law office operated by SU faculty and students, working with local worker centers like the Fair Work Center to provides free counseling to low wage workers.
Through policy advocacy and litigation, the Clinic also works to hold accountable the local, state, and federal agencies responsible for enforcing workplace rights.
Students in the Workers' Rights Clinic will help low wage workers understand and enforce their workplace rights. Though the clinic will offer services to all workers, special emphasis will be placed on understanding and enforcing Seattle and Washington State’s protections. Students will engage in three major areas of client work: (1) weekly legal consultations with workers; (2) periodic community clinics, providing counseling and advice to workers; and (3) representation of workers in employment claims through an administrative or judicial processes. Students may also work on policy advocacy and impact litigation. While students are engaged in this representation, students will also study foundational employment doctrine, reinforce their skill development, and examine the causes and consequences of income inequality in the United States.
Faculty. Elizabeth Ford, Distinguished Practitioner in Residence.
Students. Both SU and UW Law School students may enroll in this course.
Time Commitment. Students should expect to commit approximately 20 hours per week to clinic work in and out of class, with more possibly required as client representation demands.
Recommended but not required: Employment Law (EMPL-300) or Labor Law (EMPL-350).
Restriction: Students must meet the Law Clinic's conflict of interest rules.
This course counts towards the experiential learning requirement
If you work more than 40 hours in a workweek, your employer must pay you 1.5x your hourly rate for all those “overtime” hours.
Even if your employer tells you that you are "exempt”, you might still be entitled to overtime pay.
If you are someone who is entitled to overtime, you should also get one rest break for every four hours you work and one meal if you work at least 5 hours. If you work a long shift, you might be entitled to a second meal period and a third break.
For more information, see Washington State Dept. of Labor & Industries > Rest Breaks, Meal Periods & Schedules
Most employees in Washington State are entitled to accrue and use sick leave to care for your own health or the health of a family member. An employer cannot fire you for using your sick leave appropriately.
Washington employees are entitled to a lot of information about their employment including:
If you are an employee, or an independent contractor in Seattle, you are entitled to this same information.
In Washington an employer cannot pay people of different genders differently for the same, or similar, jobs. Employers must let you talk with your coworkers about your pay and cannot ask you in your interview how much you get paid at your last job.
For more information, visit Washington State Dept. of Labor & Industries > Employee Rights to Equal Pay and Opportunities
When Washington employers post a job opening, they must say how much the job will pay. Read more about the Disclosure of wage or salary range by employer on the Washington State Legislature website.
You have the right to get together with your coworkers and ask your employer to make things better. You don’t have to have a union to do this; just get together with one (or more!) other people.
Read more about Concerted Activity
You also have the right to organize into a union if you want to.
Read more about Your Right to Form a Union
Here is an interview with Chris Smalls about how he and his coworkers organized at Amazon.com.
The legal information here is not legal advice about your situation.