Wage theft victims are owed $5.4 million that WA hasn’t collected

Isabella Christian knew something was wrong with her paychecks just months into working catering events at Royal India, a Kirkland restaurant and catering company. She wasn’t always paid on time. Sometimes she wasn’t paid at all, or her paychecks bounced. And she wasn’t the only employee experiencing this. After researching her options, Christian gathered evidence and in November 2022 filed a complaint with the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries (L&I), writing that the restaurant was “a nightmare of an environment to work in.” The Seattle Times obtained her...