Goodyear shorted Washington workers on breaks and overtime, new class action lawsuit alleges

Arthur Sines, a resident of Washington filed a class action lawsuit against The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. in King County Superior Court on July 28, 2026. Sines alleges Goodyear denied hourly employees required rest and meal breaks, underpaid overtime and failed to properly accrue paid sick leave for all hours employees worked.

Alleged violations

Washington's Industrial Welfare Act entitles employees to a 30-minute meal period for every five hours they work and a paid 10-minute rest break for every four. Employers who fail to provide them owe the time as additional wages.

Sines claims Goodyear failed to provide both meal and rest breaks. He alleges workers went more than four consecutive hours without rest and more than five hours without meal breaks.

On long days, Goodyear provided neither the second meal break due within five hours of the end of the first nor the separate meal period Washington requires during overtime shifts, the lawsuit contends. It also failed to pay the extra 10 or 30 minutes owed for each late, shortened or missed break, according to the suit.

Additionally, the lawsuit claims employees performed unpaid work before clocking in, after clocking out for meal periods and after clocking out at the end of a shift.

Goodyear also rounded recorded work time in a way that was neither fair nor neutral and favored the company, leaving employees paid for fewer minutes than they worked, according to the suit.

What counts toward overtime pay?

Overtime is one and a half times an employee's regular rate, accounting for extra compensation beyond base hourly wages. The filing claims Goodyear left shift differential pay, commissions, non-discretionary bonuses and non-discretionary performance pay out of that calculation, producing overtime wages below what state law requires.

The proposed class action alleges Goodyear conduct several other erroneous pay practices, including sick leave that allegedly failed to accrue for all hours worked, incomplete itemized wage statements, payroll records that reportedly fell short of state requirements, unreimbursed business expenses that allegedly pushed take-home pay under the legal wage rate and wages paid late both during employment and at separation.

The legal claims

The complaint brings 10 causes of action, all under Washington state law:

  • Minimum and overtime wages, which covers pay below what employees earned and overtime calculated at the wrong rate
  • Rest and meal periods, which are the state's break requirements for nonexempt workers
  • Willful withholding of wages, which allows twice the unpaid amount when an employer knowingly underpays
  • Paid sick leave, which employees earn at a rate of at least one hour for every 40 hours worked
  • Late wages, which includes both regular pay periods and at the end of employment
  • Wage statements and payroll records, which is the itemized pay documentation employers have to furnish and keep

Sines seeks unpaid straight-time and overtime wages, double damages, civil penalties, interest at 12% per year, attorneys' fees and an injunction barring the allegedly inappropriate pay practices. The complaint also asks the court to appoint a receiver to manage and distribute any funds recovered.

What this means for Goodyear workers in Washington

The proposed class covers current and former hourly or nonexempt Goodyear employees in Washington who worked up to three years before the filing and through final judgment, which includes an estimated 50 people or more. There is no settlement, no claims process and no available compensation.