A host of wage-related standards in Washington are changing starting Jan. 1, 2024. From the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries (L&I), here’s what workers and employers need to know:
State minimum wage
The state’s minimum wage will increase to $16.28 per hour. It applies to workers age 16 and older. Employers may pay 85 percent of that wage to workers ages 14-15, or $13.84 per hour.
Overtime exempt employees
The salary threshold used to determine if certain workers are exempt from overtime pay will be $1,302.40 a week ($67,724.80 a year). The rate affects executive, administrative, and professional workers, plus computer professionals and outside salespeople to be exempt from overtime requirements. The hourly wage for exempt computer professionals will be $56.98, or 3.5 times the minimum wage.
Overtime for ag workers
Starting in January, agriculture employees will be eligible for overtime after working 40 hours in a workweek. That’s down from 48 hours in 2023. This will be the last step of a multi-year adjustment that began when the legislature extended overtime pay rights to agricultural workers. It started at 55 hours in 2022 then dropped to 48 last year.
Non-compete agreements
Only workers who earn more than $120,559.99 per year for employees or $301,399.98 per year for independent contractors can be held to non-competition agreements.
