The State of Washington’s minimum wage will rise by over a dollar, reaching $15.74 an hour, in January 2023. The $1.25 raise in minimum wage was announced last month in news release from the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries. The release credits the 8.66% increase in the minimum wage to the rising costs of living, as state law requires the department to calculate every year’s minimum wage based on the consumer price index.
Cities in Washington state are allowed to set their own minimum wages. Both Seattle and SeaTac have a higher minimum wage than the one set by the state. Currently, Seattle’s minimum wage is $17.27 per hour for large employers, which are employers with 501 or more employees. SeaTac’s minimum wage is set at $17.53 per hour.
Here are a few things you need to know about the increase:
▪ Cities in Washington state are allowed to set minimum wages higher than the state’s mandated rate.
▪ The state minimum wage applies to workers who are 16 years old and older. For workers ages 14-15 years old, employers must pay 85% of the minimum wage, or $13.38 per hour.
▪ The state has also set a new minimum salary for employees in Washington state who are exempt from overtime pay. The minimum salary is 1.75 times the minimum wage, ensuring salaried employees are paid $57,293.60 a year. For employers with 51 or more employees, the minimum salary is $65,478.40 a year.
▪ The minimum pay for Uber, Lyft and other rideshare services will also increase in 2023. Drivers will earn whichever value is greater for trips within Seattle: 64 cents per passenger minute, $1.50 per passenger mile or $5.62. For trips outside of Seattle, drivers will earn whichever value is greater per trip: 37 cents per passenger minutes, $1.27 per passenger mile, or $3.26.
In addition, Amazon is raising it’s average hourly pay by $1 to $19 this month. Amazon said it is raising its average starting pay for frontline workers from $18 to $19 a hour, a boost that could help it attract more employees in a tight labor market.
Amazon said that beginning this month, warehouse and transportation workers would earn between $16 and $26 an hour, depending on their position and location in the U.S. The minimum wage at the Seattle-based e-commerce company, which employed roughly 1.5 million frontline workers as of the end of June, will remain $15 an hour.
