Seattle City Attorney Erika Evans announced Wednesday that her office will dedicate a full-time attorney to enforcing wage theft laws and protecting workers’ rights, a move aimed at strengthening accountability for employers who violate labor laws.
The new position within the City Attorney’s Office will focus exclusively on workplace law and wage theft enforcement, marking a shift from the previous structure in which those responsibilities were handled as part of a broader legal portfolio.
City officials say the change will increase the office’s capacity to pursue wage theft cases and support enforcement efforts in partnership with the city’s Office of Labor Standards.
“I grew up in a working class household where I was brought up on the values of service, hard work, and always standing up for others,” Erika Evans said. “Wage theft not only harms individual workers but also creates nasty ripple effects that undermine public service funding and undercut honorable employers who play by the rules.”
Erika Evans said the new role reflects a broader effort to prioritize worker protections and ensure labor violations receive sustained attention.
“I was proud to prosecute a major, egregious wage theft case when I was at the Department of Justice, and now I’m in a position to ensure that the Seattle City Attorney’s Office prioritizes wage theft and worker’s rights by giving them the full attention of a dedicated attorney,” Erika Evans said.
Previously, legal support for the Office of Labor Standards was provided by an assistant city attorney who also handled multiple other responsibilities. Under the new structure, that work will be reassigned, allowing one attorney to focus solely on workplace enforcement.
Evans announced the change at City Hall during a rally hosted by the North Coast States Carpenters Union, underscoring the city’s ongoing efforts to address wage theft and strengthen protections for workers.
