On Monday, June 4, Seattle published updated administrative rules for the City’s Paid Sick and Safe Time ordinance which was updated in late 2017.  The update incorporated the more generous provisions of the state’s new paid sick time requirements which went into effect on Jan. 1, 2018 under voter-approved Initiative 1433. The administrative rules go into effect on July 1, 2018.

The Office of Labor Standards has announced one additional change with regard to the definition of normal hourly compensation for use in PSST calculations. In the draft rules, holiday pay and other premium rates were included in normal hourly compensation when paying for the use of PSST, which mirrors original Seattle PSST policy but differs from the rule issued by Washington State Department of Labor and Industries. OLS is proposing a modified definition that would align with the state definition and not require the inclusion of holiday pay and other premium rates when compensating employees using PSST. This modification requires a public comment period, which ends on June 19, 2018 at 5:00 p.m.  Click here for details on how to submit comments.

IMPORTANT RESOURCES:

PSST Administrative Rules

Seattle PSST Requirements Chart

Seattle PSST Fact Sheet

Paid Sick and Safe Time Policy Checklist

Additional resources, including a sample PSST policy, are available on the OLS website here.

 

REMINDER:

Washington’s new paid sick leave requirements apply to hourly workers only, but Seattle’s PSST ordinance continues to apply to both hourly and overtime-exempt employees. Another important difference is that while the state law treats all employers the same, in Seattle PSST requirements, accrual and carry-over amounts depend on the size of the employer:

Tier One Employers:  1 employee to 49 FTEs

  • Employees accrue PSST at 1 hour per 40 hours worked.
  • Employees must be able to carry over 40 hours of accrued, unused PSST per year.

Tier Two Employers:  50 to 249 FTEs

  • Employees accrue PSST at 1 hour per 40 hours worked.
  • Employees must be able to carry over 56 hours of accrued, unused PSST per year.

Tier Three Employers:  250 plus FTEs

  • Employees accrue PSST at 1 hour per 30 hours worked
  • Employees must be able to carry over 72 hours of accrued, unused PSST per year or 108 hours if the employer has a PTO policy.

Note: There is no cap on accrual or use of PSST in a year (i.e. fixed, 12-month period).

Please use the resources listed above to confirm additional requirements and responsibilities under the ordinance.