Wash. Rev. Code » Title 43 · Chapter 43.22
Revised Code of Washington

Wash. Rev. Code § 43.22.270 (2026)

Powers and duties

✓ current as of May 2026
Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section WA-LEGapp.leg.wa.gov JustiaTitle on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar
The director of labor and industries shall have the power, and it shall be the director's duty:
(1) To study and keep in touch with problems of industrial relations and, from time to time, make public reports and recommendations to the legislature;
(2) To, with the assistance of the industrial statistician, exercise all the powers and perform all the duties in relation to collecting, assorting, and systematizing statistical details relating to labor within the state and systematizing such statistical information to, as far as possible, conform to the plans and reports of the United States department of labor;
(3) To, with the assistance of the industrial statistician, make such special investigations and collect such special statistical information as may be needed for use by the department or division of the state government having need of industrial statistics;
(4) To, with the assistance of the supervisor of employment standards, supervise the administration and enforcement of all laws respecting the employment and relating to the health, sanitary conditions, surroundings, hours of labor, and wages of employees employed in business and industry in accordance with the provisions of chapter 49.12 RCW;
(5) To exercise all the powers and perform all the duties, not specifically assigned to the department of labor and industries, now vested in, and required to be performed by, the commissioner of labor;
(6) To exercise such other powers and perform such other duties as may be provided by law.
[ 1994 c 164 s 11; 1977 c 75 s 48; 1975 1st ex.s. c 296 s 32; 1973 2nd ex.s. c 16 s 12; 1973 1st ex.s. c 154 s 83; 1965 c 8 s 43.22.270. Prior: 1921 c 7 s 81; RRS 10839.]

Notes:

Severability—1973 1st ex.s. c 154: See note following RCW 2.12.030.
Apprenticeships: Chapter 49.04 RCW.
Arbitration of disputes: Chapter 49.08 RCW.
Public employees' collective bargaining, arbitration of disputes: RCW 41.56.300.
Public employment labor relations: Chapter 41.58 RCW.
Wage collection for aggrieved employees: RCW 49.48.040.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 26 cases (4 in the last 5 years), 2002–2025 · leading case: Martin v. Gonzaga Univ., 425 P.3d 837 (Wash. 2018).
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
Martin v. Gonzaga Univ., 425 P.3d 837 (Wash. 2018). “033 ; RCW 43.22.270(5). As Judge Korsmo concluded, Martin would first have to pursue an administrative request through DLI before seeking a judicial remedy from the court.”
Bostain v. Food Exp., Inc., 153 P.3d 846 (Wash. 2007). “Since Bostain does not come within the (2)(f) exemption, RCW 49.”
Bostain v. Food Express, Inc., 159 Wash. 2d 700 (Wash. 2007). “RCW 43.22.270. Moreover, the determination of the meaning of particular terms within the MWA’s overtime compensation provisions is within DLI’s specialized expertise.”
Wingert v. Yellow Freight Sys., Inc., 146 Wash. 2d 841 (Wash. 2002). “RCW 43.22.270(4). The provisions of chapter 296-126 WAC, which contain labor standards for the protection of employees’ safety, health, and welfare, were adopted under the authority of chapter 49.”
Wingert v. Yellow Freight Sys., Inc., 50 P.3d 256 (Wash. 2002). “RCW 43.22.270(4). The provisions of chapter 296-126 WAC, which contain labor standards for the protection of employees' safety, health, and *260 welfare, were adopted under the authority of chapter 49.”
Champagne v. Thurston Cnty., 163 Wash. 2d 69 (Wash. 2008). “Instead, former WAC 296-128-035 lists the following statutes as its authority: RCW 43.22.270, 49.12.020,49.12.091, *81 49.”
Champagne v. Thurston Cnty., 178 P.3d 936 (Wash. 2008). “Instead, former WAC 296-128-035 lists the following statutes as its authority: RCW 43.22.270, 49.12.020, 49.12.091, 49.12.”
Anderson v. Dep't of Soc. & Health Servs., 115 Wash. App. 452 (Wash. Ct. App. 2003). · cites it 2× “Statutory Scheme Under RCW 43.22.270(4), the director of labor and industries has the power and duty: To, with the assistance of the supervisor of employment standards, supervise the administration and enforcement of all laws respecting the employment and relating to the health,…”
Anderson v. STATE, DSHS, 63 P.3d 134 (Wash. Ct. App. 2003). · cites it 2× “STATUTORY SCHEME Under RCW 43.22.270(4), the director of labor and industries has the power and duty: To, with the assistance of the supervisor of employment standards, supervise the administration and enforcement of all laws respecting the employment and relating to the health,…”
Pellino v. Brink's, Inc., 164 Wash. App. 668 (Wash. Ct. App. 2011). “¶36 Brink’s challenges the court’s interpretation of the language used in WAC 296-126-092(1) that “Employees shall be allowed” meal periods and rest breaks to mean “the employer does have an affirmative obligation to make sure [rest and meal periods] are provided and taken,” and…”
White v. Army, 118 Wash. App. 272 (Wash. Ct. App. 2003). “RCW 43.22.270(4). (Emphasis added.) The parties stipulated at oral argument that this policy, though issued on January 2, 2002, a date after the events at issue in this case, controls.”
Schneider v. Snyder's Foods, Inc., 66 P.3d 640 (Wash. Ct. App. 2003). “[are] reasonably equivalent to one and one-half times the base rate of pay for actual hours worked within the state of Washington in excess of forty hours per week.”
Show all 26 citing cases →
— Wash. Rev. Code § 43.22.270(4) — 13 cases
Wingert v. Yellow Freight Sys., Inc., 146 Wash. 2d 841 (Wash. 2002). “RCW 43.22.270(4). The provisions of chapter 296-126 WAC, which contain labor standards for the protection of employees’ safety, health, and welfare, were adopted under the authority of chapter 49.”
Wingert v. Yellow Freight Sys., Inc., 50 P.3d 256 (Wash. 2002). “RCW 43.22.270(4). The provisions of chapter 296-126 WAC, which contain labor standards for the protection of employees' safety, health, and *260 welfare, were adopted under the authority of chapter 49.”
Anderson v. Dep't of Soc. & Health Servs., 115 Wash. App. 452 (Wash. Ct. App. 2003). “Statutory Scheme Under RCW 43.22.270(4), the director of labor and industries has the power and duty: To, with the assistance of the supervisor of employment standards, supervise the administration and enforcement of all laws respecting the employment and relating to the health,…”
Anderson v. STATE, DSHS, 63 P.3d 134 (Wash. Ct. App. 2003). “STATUTORY SCHEME Under RCW 43.22.270(4), the director of labor and industries has the power and duty: To, with the assistance of the supervisor of employment standards, supervise the administration and enforcement of all laws respecting the employment and relating to the health,…”
Pellino v. Brink's, Inc., 164 Wash. App. 668 (Wash. Ct. App. 2011). “¶36 Brink’s challenges the court’s interpretation of the language used in WAC 296-126-092(1) that “Employees shall be allowed” meal periods and rest breaks to mean “the employer does have an affirmative obligation to make sure [rest and meal periods] are provided and taken,” and…”
— Wash. Rev. Code § 43.22.270(5) — 4 cases
Martin v. Gonzaga Univ., 425 P.3d 837 (Wash. 2018). “033 ; RCW 43.22.270(5). As Judge Korsmo concluded, Martin would first have to pursue an administrative request through DLI before seeking a judicial remedy from the court.”
David Martin v. Gonzaga Univ. (Wash. Ct. App. 2017).
Virginia Mason Med. Ctr., V. Rheannon Androckitis (Wash. Ct. App. 2024).
Dahlstrom v. Life Care Centers of Am. Inc (W.D. Wash. 2023).
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.