WASHINGTON STATE

Washington State House Democrats

HOUSE DEMOCRATS

Don’t let a “business” give you the business

Consumers, not to mention good businesses, suffer major pains at the hands of sketchy operators and shady, fly-by-night set-ups .

The state Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) strongly urges people to check out unknown or unfamiliar businesses before doing business with them.

You pay; so should they. Report unregistered businesses” is the theme for a helpful consumer-protection program.

Before you lay your money down, look up a company’s history to see if it’s lying to you. Click suspectfraud.com to make sure a company has registered for a state-license. You can also use the website to tell the department if you feel a company isn’t following regulations. In addition to these key details, folks can see if the business is:

  • Cheating on their taxes.
  • Paying their employees legally or “under-the-table.”
  • A source of complaints.
  • A target of enforcement actions.

The state departments of Employment Security and Revenue collaborated with L&I in setting up the website. Agency people want consumers to be smart, informed shoppers when hiring contractors and purchasing products. Available year-round, the website is receiving an extra push now because these are prime-time months for a lot of challenging projects — the sort of home-improvement endeavors for which people often need to call in the “experts.”

Everyone has a big stake in arresting the underground economy. As noted earlier, those who swindle the system not only put you at risk, they also pilfer profits from good businesses. Plus, the underground economy cuts into the state’s revenue for education, public safety, transportation, environmental protection, and other basic public services.