There are two big changes for workers’ rights coming next year. On January 1st, the Washington state minimum wage rises to $13.69/hour, as part of a planned increase to keep up with inflation. (Tipped workers, this same rate applies to you.)
And there’s another major change on the way: In 2021, tens of thousands more salaried workers will have the right to overtime protections. This comes after a successful multi-year campaign by workers with Working Washington to restore our state’s overtime protections for overworked and underpaid salaried workers. Now, the first step of the overtime expansion is set to take effect.
Starting January 1st, if you work for a large company (>50 employees in WA) and your salary is less than about $50,000/year, you’ll have the right to earn overtime pay after working 40 hours/week. For workers at smaller businesses (<50 employees in WA), it’s more like $43,000/year. Note that after the big increase this year, these salary figures will continue to rise.
When these rules are fully phased-in, workers paid up to 2.5x the state minimum wage (that’s about $70,000/year in 2020 dollars) will get time-and-a-half pay when they work more than 40 hours in a week — regardless of whether they’re salaried or hourly, regardless of their job title, and regardless of the size of their employer.
If you’re a salaried worker earning less than these newly-announced amounts, your employer will have to pay you time-and-a-half for overtime hours — and if they don’t want to pay you more, they can let you go home after you put in your 40 hours. Expanded overtime protections mean salaried workers are getting more money in their checks, more time for themselves, or a little bit of both.
This is a big change, and we’ll need to make sure that employers respect the law and respect our time. If you work overtime but you’re not being paid overtime, get in touch with us. Together, we’ll hold employers accountable to make sure we’re paid what we’re owed.
P.S. Visit our quick, easy, up-to-date site to find out how minimum wage laws apply to you.