Washington May Extends Overtime Rules To Thousands Of Previously Exempt Workers

Currently, workers are guaranteed overtime pay if their salary is under $24,000 a year. The proposal would gradually raise that threshold to about $80,000 by 2026.

“We actually have not updated these particular rules since the 1970s. And over time a number of good, hard-working Washingtonians have lost some of these protections that we think are a critical element of the minimum wage act,” said Joel Sacks, the director of L&I.

But there’s concern in the business community. The Association of Washington Business calls it a “super minimum wage” that some businesses can’t afford.

L&I is accepting public comments until September and won’t make the rules final until then.

From the Associated Press:

“Under the proposal, employers with 50 or fewer employees would have to pay overtime to workers who are making less than $675 a week – or about $35,000 a year – starting July 1, 2020. For larger companies, workers earning less than $49,000 a year can be paid time-and-a-half pay when they exceed 40 hours a week. In 2020, the total number of employees affected would be about 77,000, growing to about 252,000 by 2026, when the overtime-exempt threshold for all employees in the state reaches $1,536 a week, or nearly $80,000 a year.”