O'Reilly Automotive ordered to pay $163K in Washington state sick leave case

Last edited 8:45 a.m., Feb. 21, 2025 [Editor's note: A statement from O'Reilly Automotive Inc. has been added.]

Springfield-based O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (Nasdaq: ORLY) has been ordered by the state of Washington to pay more than $163,000 over allegations related to the state's paid sick leave law.

Gov. Bob Ferguson and the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries allege in a news release this month that O'Reilly Automotive improperly eliminated unused sick leave. More than 2,300 employees at around 160 stores statewide were allegedly impacted, the release notes, when the company switched to a new payroll vendor at the end of 2022.

The impacted workers are set to receive $163,458 through the Washington state order. Washington state officials say that most of those individuals no longer work at O'Reilly Auto Parts stores.

“My administration will always center Washingtonians in every action we take and fight for fair treatment for workers,” Ferguson said in the release. “We will return this money to the hardworking employees who earned it."

O'Reilly Automotive Public Relations Director Sonya Kullmann Cox provided a statement on behalf of the company.

"An audit found that during a payroll systems conversion, a programming glitch occurred and some team members were not credited with the correct amount of sick pay," the statement reads. "Once O’Reilly Auto Parts knew about the error, it paid the $163,458 our team members were owed."

The paid sick leave law in Washington requires employers to allow employees to carry over up to 40 hours of unused paid sick leave between years, according to the release. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries officials say they began investigating O'Reilly Automotive's Puyallup distribution center in 2023, and the probe expanded statewide.