The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.

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Terms Used In Washington Code 19.320.010

  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
  • Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
  • person: may be construed to include the United States, this state, or any state or territory, or any public or private corporation or limited liability company, as well as an individual. See Washington Code 1.16.080
(1) “Any person” means adults and children of any nationality.
(2) “Domestic employers of foreign workers” or “domestic employer” means a person or persons residing in the state of Washington who recruit or employ a foreign worker to perform work in Washington state.
(3) “Forced labor” means all work or service which is exacted from any person under the menace of any penalty and to which the person has not offered himself or herself voluntarily.
(4) “Foreign worker” or “worker” means a person who is not a citizen of the United States, who comes to Washington state based on an offer of employment, and who holds a nonimmigrant visa for temporary visitors.
(5) “Human trafficking” or “trafficking” means an act conducted for the purpose of exploitation, including forced labor, by particular means, for example threat of use of force or other forms of coercion, abduction, fraud or deception, abuse of power, or abuse of position of vulnerability.
(6) “International labor recruitment agency” means a corporation, partnership, business, or other legal entity, whether or not organized under the laws of the United States or any state, that does business in the United States and offers Washington state entities engaged in the employment or recruitment of foreign workers, employment referral services involving citizens of a foreign country or countries by acting as an intermediary between these foreign workers and Washington employers.
(7) “Menace of any penalty” means all forms of criminal sanctions and other forms of coercion, including threats, violence, retention of identity documents, confinement, nonpayment or illegal deduction of wages, or debt bondage.
(8) “Work or service” means all types of work, employment, or occupation, whether legal or not.