Washington Labor & Industries interpreters file wage-theft lawsuit

Magda Enriquez, 36, a single mother of three, said she’s owed between $3,000 and $4,000 from self-insured companies who have not paid for interpreter services.

“L&I is able to pressure these self-insured companies,” Enriquez said. “The director of L&I could come down on the self-insured companies and say, ‘Look, these payments are over three or four years old.’ At this point, these services need to be paid out.”

L&I’s 572 registered interpreters have organized with the Washington Federation of State Employees as they negotiate a first contract. The union has asked for a wage increase, guaranteed timely payment for work done, and to be paid for appointments when the client is a no-show or has a late cancellation. Contract negotiations are now in the hands of an arbitrator, with a decision expected in late September.

“[The] Union feels that LNI has the power to force these coordinating entities to pay up and treat interpreters with respect, so they are not the bulk of what the lawsuit is dealing with but they have huge influence to fix this problem,” Patrick Sugrue, the union’s director of communications, wrote in a email.

The separate wage complaint stems from a switch in mid-June in the company that handles the scheduling and paying of L&I interpreters. The new company, SOS International (SOSi), offers a range of interpretation services, including for the Drug Enforcement Agency.

Half-a-dozen interpreters told Cascade PBS they have had to borrow money, rack up credit card debt or take other jobs as they wait to get paid after the switch. And that complaints and questions to the new company and to L&I often go ignored, or if answered, the response was to keep waiting.

Enriquez said she is also owed money for work done after L&I switched companies, and the delay in payments sent her back into debt. 

“I can’t afford to pay rent and pay bills,” said the Tri-Cities resident, who estimates she is owed about $3,000 for work performed mid-June to late August.

Most interpreters, many of whom translate for patients in the workers’ compensation system, have received only partial wages for work done over the past three months, according to interpreters and the union.

As of late August, Kat Castaneda, 48, said she was missing $500-$600 from SOSi for work done in June and July as she racked up more hours in August, but said she remains uncertain on the exact amount because the payment figures provided when she performed the work do not match what was listed on the invoice.

The Everett resident, who has been interpreting for L&I for about five years, said she had anticipated some delay in payments due to the switch in companies, so she saved enough to cover one month of bills.

When the delay continued into a second and third month, Castaneda borrowed money from family and friends, and maxed out her emergency credit card, she said. 

“I was just so stressed with anxiety,” Castaneda said.