Independent interpreters across Washington state who provide translation services for injured workers are owed thousands of dollars by Washington State Labor and Industries (L&I) contractor SOS International (SOSi).

Juan Bloise, an independent interpreter and president of WA Interpreters, is one of many in Snohomish County who are owed money for their work with L&I patients. He earns $61.80 an hour, but on July 24, he only received $99.91 — 1.62 of an hour’s pay for months of work.

Fellow interpreter Michel Vivas has not been paid for his last 85 assignments and counting: that’s about two months of work. Vivas said that he has been dipping into his savings to stay afloat.

“If I could put my feelings in one word, it would be ‘disrespected,’” Vivas said, “There are a lot of interpreters who are scraping the bottom of the barrel to pay bills.”

In its onboarding material for new interpreters, SOSi states: “SOSi shall pay Contractor all amounts received from the insurer for the Contractor’s covered services within fifteen (15) days of receiving payment from the insurer for such services.”

L&I states via email and on its website, “Interpreters are essential to what we do – without them, we would not be able to effectively serve our diverse customers. We appreciate their work and their patience while we established the new scheduling system.”

An L&I representative said it is not uncommon in medical or insurance settings for delays to happen between the time work is performed, billed and paid. Further, there is always a time gap involved as that process works. 

“So far, L&I has paid out almost $750,000 under the new contract, and those payments have gone or will go to the interpreters within the timeframe set up in the contract,” L&I said in a statement.

“We know the delay between doing the work, billing for it, and then being paid can be challenging for our interpreters and their families, and we will continue to work on improvements that help make that timeline move faster,” the statement continued.

“We were ensured a smooth transition,” Bloise said. “We have not seen consistent payment since SOSi took over the payment system on June 17.”

State legislative changes allowed L&I to hire contractors for scheduling and paperwork, with independent interpreters working through and being paid by those contractors.

Bloise explained that before 2021, interpreters worked for and were paid directly by L&I and never had any issues. In 2018, legislation was passed requiring L&I to outsource its scheduling and billing – a move to prevent corrupt interpreters from creating a monopoly. However, the change did not go into effect until September 2020 due to the pandemic and was fully implemented in April 2021. According to Bloise, L&I chooses its contractors based on a scoring system that judges how closely the contractors fit the department’s needs. Traditionally, L&I selects the company with the highest score. However, during its most recent selection process, the department went with the second-highest scoring company.

Bellevue, Washington-based Universal Language Service came in first with a score of 84. SOSi, a Reston, Virginia-based service, had 81, and Branford Connecticut’s Interpreting Works –, L&I’s previous provider – scored 64.

This ranking leaves Bloise, Vivas and other Washington WA Interpreters wondering why SOSi was chosen.

Bloise and Vivas said that when L&I first started using Interpreting Works, there was a two-week payment delay, but after that, everything smoothed out. Neither interpreter had issues with the system after that.

On July 24, interpreters received a partial payment from SOSi of about 5% to 10% of what was owed – for some, the payment was as low as $28.

“We can’t pay our bills with that,” Bloise said. “Some of us have already left for other jobs.”

Both Bloise and Vivas said they don’t want to quit their jobs. During previous employment, each was injured on the job and traveled the road to physical recovery thanks to L&I benefits. Bloise couldn’t return to construction after an injury, and it was suggested he retrain as an interpreter because of his Spanish skills. Vivas was injured while working as a security officer; his brother, also an interpreter, suggested the career change.

“It’s a calling,” Vivas said. “I’m meant to help people.”

Bloise, Vivas and their fellow interpreters say the services they provide are crucial for patients’ health and recovery. Proper understanding of medical procedures and physical therapy helps the patient, and having a clear understanding of symptoms helps medical staff.

Further, their services provide comfort for the patient. Bloise explained that when patients work with someone who looks like them and speaks their language, it puts them at ease. Some of the injured workers are undocumented and fear deportation, while others may be new to the U.S. and fear their injuries will reflect negatively on their immigration status.

My Neighborhood News Network partner Jaime Mendez News broke the story of the payment delays on Aug 1 and received a follow-up response from L&I the next day. In its response, L&I said that it paid SOSi $750,000. Vivas said he heard a rumor in a popular interpreter chat group he belongs to that SOSi will issue payment on Aug. 7. So far, however,  “there has been no communication from SOSi,” Vivas said. “We get our information from the news.”

L&I contracted with SOSi for the 2024 fiscal year to manage appointments, invoices and payments starting June 17. 

After the interpreters started working with the company, “It was obvious they (SOSi) didn’t know anything about the state,” Vivas said.

The first hiccups were in scheduling, with the Lynnwood-based Vivas receiving appointments for interpretation services as far as Wenatchee and Spokane. One day, he worked with the support agent to figure out how to set his travel range. 

The group WA Interpreters started looking into the company and found the settlement paperwork of a California class action lawsuit against SOSi, which was tried in Los Angeles. The nine-day trial, which was held in LA and Washington, D.C. and ended on Oct. 13, 2017. It found that SOSi was attempting to union bust by not renewing interpreter contracts.

The judge ruled that SOSi was retaliating against interpreters who wanted to unionize, even going as far as surveilling them. The company was ordered to cease and desist, rehire the interpreters and reimburse them for lost wages.

As a result of current turmoil, Bloise said that “there are a lot of interpreters leaving the [medical] field or interpreting altogether.”

He and Vivas have considered using their talents in other fields like public relations, marketing and social services, but they are torn between what they feel is their calling as interpreters and survival.

SOSi Vice President of Communications and Marketing Laura Wooster did not respond to questions but instead referred My Neighborhood News Network to an L&I web page with FAQs on interpreter services

— By Rick Sinnett