New Minimum Wage and Sick Pay Rules for Washington State

By now, you have prepared for a new minimum wage, new sick pay policies and communicated the changes to your staff. State required wages and benefits can be difficult because of the potential misinformation ripple effect.

Here is a summary of the new minimum wage requirements and sick pay rules.

On November 8, 2016, Washington voters passed Initiative 1433. The initiative raised the minimum wage beginning January 1, 2017. It also requires all employers to provide paid sick leave to their employees starting January 1, 2018.

As a result of voter-approved Initiative 1433, employers are required to provide paid sick leave starting Jan. 1, 2018.
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"This is a big change, so we made sure people had every chance to weigh in on the rules and let us know the potential impacts," said L&I Assistant Director of Fraud Prevention & Labor Standards Elizabeth Smith. "Now that they're final, the next step is to make sure that employers know what's required so they can be ready when the new law takes effect on January 1."

Below is a breakdown the new wage and sick leave law and how you will be affected:

Sick Leave 

• Mandatory paid sick leave took effect on Jan. 1, 2018.
• Under the new law, employees earn at least one hour of paid sick leave for every 40 hours worked. For people who work full time, this means about 1 hour of paid sick time for every week worked. It works out to about 6.5 days a year for full-time workers.
• The time can be used when a worker OR a family member is sick. It also applies when an office or school has been closed for health-related reason.
• Paid sick leave must be paid to employees at their normal hourly compensation.
• Employers may impose a waiting period of 90 days before new employees can use accrued sick leave under the law.
  • Once 90 days have passed, employees may use leave:
    • For their own illness, injury, or medical treatment;
    • To care for an ill or injured family member;
    • For the closure of their place of business or a child’s school for a health-related reason; and
    • For absences that qualify for domestic violence leave.
• Workers will be able to use all accrued hours for authorized purposes, with no other limits on use. In other words, employees must be allowed to use as much sick leave as they are able to accrue each year.
• Workers will be able to carry over up to 40 hours of unused paid sick leave to the following year.
• For absences exceeding three days, employers may require documentation, such as a doctor's note, that shows that the leave was used for an authorized purpose.
• There is no maximum accrual or maximum use caps allowed under the law. In other words, employees must be allowed to use as much sick leave as they are able to accrue each year.
• Employers aren’t required to pay for sick leave when employment is terminated, but they are required to restore previously accrued sick leave if an employee is rehired within 12 months.

As with the minimum wage, some cities in Washington have their own paid sick leave laws with requirements that differ from the statewide law.

Minimum Wage Increase 

• Washington’s minimum wage increased from $11 an hour to $11.50 an hour on Jan. 1, 2018.
• In 2019, minimum wage will go up to $12 an hour. It 2020, the wage will go up to $13.50 an hour.

• Starting Jan. 1, 2021, minimum wage increases will be calculated by L&I using a formula tied to the rate of inflation (based on the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers - CPI-W (data.bls.gov)).
• For employers in cities that already have higher minimum wages, including Seattle, the local minimum wage rate will apply as long as it is higher than the state minimum.
• Workers between 14 and 15 may be paid 85 percent of the adult minimum wage, or $9.78 an hour.

The new rate doesn’t mean the same minimum wage will apply to all employees in the state for three reasons:

1. The increases won’t necessarily apply to workers who are 17 or younger. The minimum wage for workers under 18 is established by regulation.
   
   
2. Employers are required to pay employees all tips and gratuities (and certain service charges) in addition to the established minimum wage.
   
   
3. The initiative doesn’t override higher local minimum wages. Local minimum wages will continue to apply unless the state minimum wage surpasses them.

​For more on the changes, head to the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries website.