Complaint Triage

Due to a large increase and a significant backlog of claims, the Bureau of Labor and Industries currently does not have the resources to investigate all complaints.

As of October 2024, BOLI still has the following triage in effect:

CIVIL RIGHTS CLAIMS

BOLI is prioritizing complaints of certain unlawful conduct, individuals with claims outside of these may not have their case investigated.

The cases that BOLI is prioritizing include:

Cases where the whistleblowing alleges violations by a public or non-profit employer including fraud, gross waste of funds, or substantial and specific danger to public health or safety
Cases involving allegations by an apprentice referred from the Apprenticeship Division.
Cases involving Domestic Violence/Harassment/Sexual Assault/ Stalking/Bias Leave, Discrimination, or Retaliation
Cases that include both a wage and civil rights claim
Cases where the violation is flagged as ongoing or the individual is still employed
Deferred Action of Labor Enforcement (DALE) cases
Cases where there is no private right of action/BOLI is only enforcement authority:

Leave of absence to donate bone marrow
Service as appointed member of state board or commission
Employee social media account privacy
Restriction on criminal conviction inquiries (“Ban the Box”)
Public accommodations – discriminatory notices
Refusing to accept currency/coins
Public accommodations – toilet facility access
Public accommodations – closed captioning requirement
Discrimination because of employment status

Cases where no private right of action due to arbitration agreement
EEOC cases
Respondents who have had multiple complaints filed against them (aka “frequent fliers”); high level of egregiousness; impact cases.
Retaliation (for engaging in the BOLI process/filing a wage claim; OSHA retaliation; Workers’ Compensation retaliation)
Housing cases

The remaining cases are more likely to be dismissed without investigation, due to resource constraints.