Wages & Salaries toolkit

For 2025, the minimum salary that must be paid to employees in order for them to be exempt from overtime rules depends on the size of their employer. Small employers with up 50 employees must pay workers a salary equivalent to at least 2 times the minimum wage. That means an exempt employee will have to earn at least $1,332.80 a week ($69,305.60 a year). For large employers, with 51 or more employees, overtime-exempt workers must make at least 2.25 times the minimum wage. That means an exempt employee for one of these larger employers must earn at least $1,499.40 a week ($77,968.80 a year).

The 2024 overtime threshold is two times the minimum wage. That means an exempt employee will have to earn at least $1,302.40 a week ($67,724.80 a year).

Background

In July 1, 2020, Washington state implemented new laws for salaried employees: depending on how much they make, they are entitled to overtime for any hours worked more than 40 hours a week.

There is an eight-year implementation schedule that incrementally raises the multiplier until it reaches 2.5 times the minimum wage in 2028. The pace of the increase is based on the size of the employer.

You can download this schedule here.

Most employees who work more than 40 hours in a seven-day workweek must be paid overtime. Overtime pay must be at least 1.5 times the employee’s regular hourly rate. Other overtime rates, like double-time pay are not required under Washington state law.

Use this tool to estimate a budget for the overtime cost if an employee is classified as non-exempt.

Employees cannot waive their right to overtime pay.

• Employers must pay overtime to eligible workers regardless of the employer’s size.
• Employers can mandate overtime work.
• Collective bargaining agreements and employers can provide overtime pay more generous than Washington law requires.

Private employers are not allowed to enter “comp time” agreements with employees where employees are eligible for additional paid time off in lieu of paying overtime.

If you would like to attend a webinar from L&I in which you will learn about the overtime rules, including the job duties tests for each exemption category, click here and choose “White-collar overtime exemptions” from the drop-down menu under “Events.”

Overtime-exempt employees

In 2020 L&I updated Washington’s overtime rules which apply to “white collar” positions held by executive, administrative, and professional workers, plus computer professionals and outside salespeople.

A worker must earn at least the minimum salary, and their duties must meet a job duties test to be exempt from earning overtime. The minimum salaries are a multiplier of the minimum wage.

A worker is judged non-exempt by job duties, not a job title or description. Their duties determine whether a job primarily involves executive, administrative, professional, computer professional, or outside sales duties as defined in the rules.

• Employers may convert salaried employees to hourly and pay them overtime if they work more than 40 hours a week.
• They may also choose to leave them as salaried employees and pay them overtime when they work more than 40 hours a week.
• They can also choose to maintain the employee’s status as a salaried employee and limit their hours to just 40.

Is my employee exempt?

An employee meets the executive exemption if they have a primary duty of managing the business or a department or subdivision of the business. They also customarily direct the work of two or more employees. They also have the authority to hire, fire or promote employees or their recommendations about hiring, firing and promoting holds a particular weight. They are paid on a salary basis and the amount they are paid is equal to or greater than the salary threshold.

An employee meets the administrative exemption if they perform non-manual work, and their duties are related to managing or operating a business or the business of their employer’s customers. They have decision-making authority about important matters. They are paid on a salary basis and the amount they are paid is equal to or greater than the salary threshold.

An employee meets the learned professional exemption when their job requires advanced knowledge in an intellectual field and has received lengthy certified instruction, such as a graduate degree. They consistently use discretion and judgement in performing their duties. A creative professional employee does work that is creative or artistic. It requires invention, originality or talent. These two employees must be paid on a salary basis and are paid as much or more than the salary threshold.

For an in-depth learning tool for this information, click here.

Other resources

L&I has a very robust site with many resources about the overtime threshold. Find everything you need here.

Attorneys from Miller Nash, a law firm that is part of the Washington Hospitality Association’s Advisory Network, presented a webinar about all the new and changing laws for 2023.

As of Jan. 1, 2023, employers with 15 or more employees are required to include salary and benefits information in job postings.

Employment law attorney and association allied member Catharine Morisset co-authored an excellent post with Dean Petitta about this new requirement. They explain the details within the new law, highlight the differences between external and internal job posting and provide a three-step plan employers can follow.

Catharine also hosted a webinar on Washington’s new job posting requirements. In case you missed it, head over to the members only site to get a full recap of Catharine’s presentation.

Washington state’s minimum wage is well over $16 an hour, and many cities are implementing minimum wages in the $20 range. Operators are struggling with these wages. 

Washington Hospitality Association President & CEO Anthony Anton is doing a series of videos with operators who are having success with alternative wage and salary models.

For the first installment, Anthony had a conversation with Fire & Vine CEO Chad Mackay, who hasn’t worried about the minimum wage since implementing a commission model in his restaurants in 2017. They discuss how this plan works and how you can implement it. You can learn more and watch that video by clicking below.

More videos in this series will be coming soon.

Wage & Salary Models: Commission and service charges—why Chad Mackay doesn’t worry about minimum wage

AAHOA opposes L.A.’s proposed minimum wage hike for hotel workers

(Oct. 22, 2024)

AAHOA OPPOSED THE Los Angeles City Council’s recent proposal to raise hotel worker wages to $30 per hour, plus $8 for healthcare, citing a flawed economic impact study that misjudges the industry’s ability to absorb the increase. AAHOA members, including a delegation of women hoteliers, testified before the council, warning of the proposal’s impact on smaller, independent hotels, the association said in a statement.

Long Beach’s hotel worker minimum wage measure has narrow majority, new election results show

(March 6, 2024)

Long Beach Measure RW ballot initiative — which would increase the minimum wage for certain hotel workers to $23 per hour — was clinging to approval after additional vote tallies were released on Wednesday afternoon, March 6.

About 50.63% of voters were in favor of Measure RW, according to the first post-election day update, which the Los Angeles County registrar’s office released around 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday. The registrar’s office previously released its semi-official results around 2 a.m. Wednesday.