WA · state labor law, 2026
Washington labor laws: minimum wage, overtime, leave, final pay and breaks
Washington stacks a high state wage, a salary test tied to it, city rates around Seattle and a paid leave insurance program with job protection.
Washington and federal rules checked on official sources on · Checked by Radif Partners · How we calculate
- Minimum wage now
- $17.13/h
- statewide
- From January 1, 2027
- $17.73/h
- announced rate
- Tipped cash wage
- full minimum
- no tip credit
- Overtime
- 40 h/week
- state law
- Paid sick leave
- 1 h per 40 h
- cap 40 h a year
- Paid family leave
- 12 weeks
- Washington Paid Family and Medical Leave
Washington's minimum wage is $17.13 an hour in 2026, and the Department of Labor & Industries has announced $17.73 for January 1, 2027. There is no tip credit: servers and bartenders earn the full rate before tips, and tips and service charges belong to the worker. 8 local governments set higher rates, topping out at $21.65 in Tukwila, while Seattle's $21.30 covers every employer in the city. Overtime follows the 40-hour week, but the salary needed to be exempt is 2.25 times the minimum wage for 40 hours, which works out to $1,541.70 a week, far above the federal $684. Paid sick leave accrues at one hour per 40 hours worked for everyone. Paid Family and Medical Leave replaces up to 90 percent of weekly pay, capped at $1,647 a week in 2026, for up to 12 weeks. Adults are owed a paid ten-minute rest for each four hours and a 30-minute meal.
Gross pay for this week in Washington
$685
Time and a half after 40 hours in a week
| Minimum wage in Washington now | $17.13 an hour |
| Your rate against it | At or above the minimum |
| Overtime: none this week | $0 |
| Paid sick leave earned in a year | 40 hours (cap reached) |
| Breaks owed in a 8-hour shift | 30 min meal, 2 x 10 min paid rest |
| Final paycheck if fired | at the end of the established pay period |
| Unused vacation at the end | Paid out if the employer policy or contract says so |
| Paid family leave | Washington Paid Family and Medical Leave, up to 12 weeks |
40 hours a week at $17.13. State rule applied. Minimum wage, overtime and leave rules have exceptions by employer size and industry. How this is calculated.
The salary line that moves with the wage
Washington's rarest rule is the one that decides who can be paid a salary with no overtime. Instead of a fixed dollar figure, WAC 296-128-545 sets the threshold as a multiple of the state minimum wage for a 40-hour week: 2.25 times in 2026 for employers of every size, or $1,541.70 a week. In 2027 the multiple splits by employer size. At the announced $17.73 rate, the level becomes $1,595.70 a week at employers with 50 or fewer employees and $1,773 at larger ones. A project coordinator on $75,000 a year earns $1,442 a week, short of the 2026 line by $5,168 a year, so hours past 40 must be paid at time and a half whatever the job title says. The duties tests still apply on top of the salary test.
Does your salary pass the exemption test?
Salary test
Fails: overtime is owed
| Your weekly salary | $1,154 |
| Level in Washington | $1,541.70 a week |
| Same level per year | $80,168 |
| Short by (per year) | $20,168 |
Passing the salary test is not enough: the job duties must also be exempt.
City rates around Puget Sound
Local wages cluster south and north of Seattle, and most of them depend on who employs you. Tukwila, Renton, Everett, unincorporated King County and Burien set tiers by employer size, so two cashiers on the same street can have different floors. SeaTac's rate applies only to hospitality and transportation employers, while Bellingham, near the Canadian border, uses a single rate for everyone. Seattle has announced $22.14 for 2027. Full time in Seattle pays $8,674 a year more than the same job at the state rate. The local figure applies to hours worked inside the city limits.
City minimum wage against the state rate
Flagstaff (AZ), per hour
$18.35
| Arizona state rate | $15.15 |
| Difference per hour | $3.20 |
| Difference over a year | $6,656 |
| Year at the city rate | $38,168 |
Tips, rest breaks and the three-hour rule
Tips and service charges cannot count toward the hourly minimum, and the employer must hand them over to the employees. Breaks follow WAC 296-126-092: a paid ten-minute rest period for each four hours, with no more than three hours of work without one, and a 30-minute meal period that starts between the second and fifth hour, so nobody works more than five hours in a row without eating. On a ten-hour shift that comes to 1 meal period and 2 paid rest periods. The rule text is short and worth reading in full.
Paid leave, sick hours and the final paycheck
Paid Family and Medical Leave pays up to 90 percent of weekly pay for 12 weeks of family or medical leave, up to 16 weeks combined when more than one qualifying event occurs, and 18 when a pregnancy complication causes incapacity. Since January 1, 2026, job protection reaches employees of companies with 25 or more workers in Washington after 180 days, well below the 50-employee federal threshold. The 2026 premium is 1.13% of gross wages up to the Social Security cap; at employers with 50 or more employees the worker's share is 71.43%. On $1,200 a week the total premium is $13.56, and the employee pays $9.69 of it. Sick leave starts at one hour per 40 hours, usable 90 calendar days after hire, and up to 40 unused hours carry over. Whether you quit or are let go, wages are due at the end of the established pay period. Other state paid leave programs use different caps.
Washington employment rules at a glance, 2026
Minimum wage schedule
| From | Who it covers | Rate | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 1, 2026 | Statewide | $17.13 | Workers aged 14-15 may be paid 85% of the minimum wage |
| January 1, 2027 | Statewide | $17.73 | Announced by L&I in September 2026 (poster FY27-075 [09-2026]); 14-15-year-olds $15.07 |
Workers covered by both laws get the higher rate. Workers aged 14 and 15 may be paid no less than 85% of the minimum wage ($14.56 in 2026, $15.07 in 2027). Read the Washington rule.
Cities and counties with their own minimum wage
| Place | Rate | Since | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seattle | $21.30 | January 1, 2026 | ordinance page |
| SeaTac | $20.74 | January 1, 2026 | ordinance page |
| Tukwila | $21.65 | January 1, 2026 | ordinance page |
| Renton | $21.57 | January 1, 2026 | ordinance page |
| Bellingham | $19.13 | January 1, 2026 | ordinance page |
| Everett | $20.77 | January 1, 2026 | ordinance page |
| King County (unincorporated areas) | $20.82 | January 1, 2026 | ordinance page |
| Burien | $21.63 | January 1, 2026 | ordinance page |
Overtime
Time and a half after 40 hours in a week. Salaried white-collar employees must earn at least $1,541.70 a week to be exempt under state law (2026: 2.25 x state minimum wage x 40 hours, all employer sizes (computed: 2.25 x $17.13 x 40). 2027: 2.25x for employers with 50 or fewer employees, 2.5x for more than 50.), above the federal $684. Time and a half after 40 hours in a 7-day workweek; no daily overtime or double time under state law (except certain public works). source
Sick leave and family leave
Paid sick leave: 1 hour for every 40 hours worked (No annual accrual cap in the law; unused balances of 40 hours or less must be carried over to the next year. Use can start 90 calendar days after hire.), all employers. Created by Initiative 1433 (2016). Paid at normal hourly compensation. source
Washington Paid Family and Medical Leave: up to 12 weeks, benefits payable since January 1, 2020, up to 90% of weekly pay, up to the yearly maximum, maximum $1,647.00 a week in 2026. 12 weeks of medical or family leave; up to 16 weeks combined with more than one qualifying event, 18 weeks with a pregnancy complication causing incapacity. source
Final paycheck and unused vacation
Fired or laid off: at the end of the established pay period. Quitting: at the end of the established pay period. Vacation: No state requirement to pay out accrued vacation found; follows employer policy or contract.. source
Meal and rest breaks
Meal: 30-minute meal period starting between the 2nd and 5th hour of the shift; no more than 5 consecutive hours without one. Rest: 10-minute paid rest period for each 4 hours worked; no more than 3 hours without a rest period. source
Unions and dismissal
Washington has no right-to-work law, so a union contract may require a fee from the workers it covers. Employment is at will: either side may end it at any time, except for an illegal reason such as discrimination or retaliation, or against a contract.
Also worth knowing in Washington
- Since January 1, 2026, Paid Family and Medical Leave job protection covers employees of companies with 25 or more workers in Washington after 180 days of employment. source
- 2026 Paid Leave premium: 1.13% of gross wages up to the Social Security cap ($184,500); employers with 50+ employees pay up to 28.57%, employees 71.43%. source
- Employers must pay all tips and service charges to employees and cannot use them toward the minimum wage. source