Theft
Seattle Mun. Code § 12A.08.060
in effect12A.08.060 - Theft
A. A person is guilty of theft if:
1. He or she steals the property of another; or
2. By deception or by other means to avoid payment for services, he or she intentionally obtains services which he or she knows to be available only for compensation; or
3. Having control over the disposition of services of others to which he or she is not entitled, he or she knowingly diverts those services to his or her own benefit or to the benefit of another not entitled thereto; or
4. He or she knowingly secures the performance of services by agreeing to provide compensation and, after the services are rendered, fails to make full and complete payment, with intent to avoid payment for services.
B. For purposes of subsection 12A.08.060.A.4, among the circumstances that may be considered in determining whether the person intends to avoid payment for services are that he or she:
1. Agrees to pay the person providing the services immediately upon completion of the services, but fails to do so; or
2. Fails to pay the person providing the services at the time of an agreed-upon payday or at the end of the regular payment interval required by state and federal statutes; or
3. Agrees to pay the person providing the services at a specified time and place after completion of the services, but fails to appear at that time or place; or
4. Agrees to pay the person providing the services a specified amount upon completion of the services, but pays or offers a lesser amount; or
5. Pays the person providing the services with a check that is not honored by the bank or other depository upon which it is drawn because of insufficient funds or a stop-payment order; or
6. In retaliation for asserting any claim to wages, communicates to the person providing the services, directly or indirectly, explicitly or implicitly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or threatens, intimidates, or takes any other adverse action against the person; or
7. Has been found by a court to have violated 29 U.S.C. 215(a)(3) with respect to the person providing the services; or
8. Fails to respond within 15 days to any written communication that makes a demand for unpaid wages from the person providing the services or any other person or entity writing on that person's behalf.
Proof of any of these circumstances is not required for theft under subsection 12A.08.060.A.4 nor do any of these circumstances conclusively prove theft under subsection 12A.08.060.A.4.
C. In any prosecution under this Section 12A.08.060, it is an affirmative defense that the property or services were openly obtained under a claim of title made in good faith, even though the claim be untenable.
D. Theft involving services may be deemed to have been committed either at the place where the agreement was made regarding the services or at the place where the services were performed.
E. Within 14 days after the conviction of a person of theft under subsection 12A.08.060.A.4 of this Section 12A.08.060, the clerk of the court shall forward to the Director of the Department of Finance and Administrative Services a docket of the case record.
(Ord. 124645, § 3, 2014; Ord. 123596, § 2, 2011; Ord. 102843, § 12A.08.220, 1973.)
Source: City of Seattle, Seattle Municipal Code and City Charter (Municode Library, library.municode.com)URL: https://library.municode.com/wa/seattle/codes/municipal_code?nodeId=TIT12ACRCO_SUBTITLE_ICRCO_CH12A.08OFAGPR_12A.08.060THFetched: 11/1/2026