Washington Minimum Wage Increase: 4 Things To Know

The road to a $13.50-per-hour minimum wage in Washington is here.

The state minimum wage increased to $11 per hour Sunday and will increase every year until hitting $13.50 in 2020. The increase is the result of the passage of Initiative 1433. That initiative also addresses paid sick time.

Here are four important things to know about the coming wage increases, according to the state Department of Labor and Industries:

1. It doesn't apply everywhere: Seattle, SeaTac, and Tacoma all have local laws governing minimum wage increases, and minimum wage in each of those cities is generally higher than $11 per hour. Employers in these cities are bound to local laws governing the minimum wage and subsequent increases.
2. Is anyone exempt? Yes - workers age 16 or under can be paid 85 percent of the minimum wage. That would be $9.35 per hour, which is lower than the 2016 minimum of $9.47 per hour.
3. What about paid sick leave? Initiative 1433 deems that employers must grant workers paid sick leave beginning Jan. 1, 2018. The state has not formulated rules for paid sick leave, but will do so in 2017.
4. What happens after 2020? The initiative will increase minimum wage over the next four years until it hits $13.50 in 2020. After that, the state Department of Labor and Industries will resume calculating minimum wage increases every September, as has been the practice since 1998.

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