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Uniforms
Wearing a uniform at your workplace in Seattle may be mandatory, but your employer doesn’t have the right to make you pay too much for it. Know your rights!
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) does not allow uniforms, or other items which are considered to be primarily for the benefit or convenience of the employer, to be included as wages. Thus, an employer may not take credit for such items in meeting his/her obligations toward paying the minimum wage or overtime.
For example, if an employee who is subject to the statutory minimum wage of $6.55 per hour is paid an hourly wage of $6.55, the employer may not make any deduction from the employee's wages for the cost of the uniform nor may the employer require the employee to purchase the uniform on his/her own. If the employee were paid $7.00 per hour and worked 30 hours in a work week, the maximum amount the employer could legally deduct from the employee's wages would be $13.50 ($.45 X 30 hours).
You may also wish to view the FLSA fact sheet on work uniforms (.PDF document).
Please note: To view and print .PDF documents, you must use the Adobe Reader software, which is available for download without charge.
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